Duty of the Heart
by Lunar Adept
Summary: A/U. The Silver Alliance was defeated,Queen Serenity sealed the darkness and sent her daughter and protectors to the future, and in order to bring restoration to the galaxy, Saturn brought down the Glaive. However, when the queen used her power to send her daughter to a better future, she didn't expect that it would be filled with chaos. Chaos that would grow and overcome the light
1. Prologue: Eternal Guardian

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

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><p><em>Please be safe. Please be safe. Please be safe! <em>The warrior thought to herself as she raced towards her destination, her image a blaze of orange light that streaked through the star ocean. "..." Her face grew grim as she recalled her last time there...

"_Please, Your Highness, I beg you to reconsider! This will only lead to calamity! That man cannot be trusted!"_

_The Queen looked down at her warrior with mixed emotions. "I know you have concerns; we are all nervous about my daughter's marriage; however this is the best way to ensure peace between The Silver Alliance and the Earth. Furthermore, although the earthlings are powerful warriors, they have naught the strength nor skills to actively stand against us. Our alliance is to ensure that the Dark Kingdom may be held at bay."_

"_But, Your Majesty!"_

"_ENOUGH!"_

_The Queen's glare softened as she looked at her warrior's tear-filled eyes, the young girl's face showing naught but genuine concern about her princess and the kingdom she was sworn to protect. Softly, ever so softly, the Queen reached out and embraced the young girl, allowing the girl to cry softly into her chest._

"_My dear child, I know of your affections for Serenity..." At this, the young girl gasped and looked fearfully at the Queen, who simply smiled before continuing, "However, it is both my and my daughter's duty to do what is best for The Alliance. I know of the risks, and we are willing to go through with it. Our warriors are strong and wise; we shall not be tricked so easily..."_

_The warrior slowly moved away from her Queen, "...And the Princess? Has she agreed to this as well?"_

_The Queen was silent for but a moment. "Serenity has decided to fulfill her duties as a princess should. Now, enough of that. I want you to go to the Time Gate and ask what Pluto sees in the future. Although she will never give a straight answer, that woman; but at least you should be able to get a feel of what is to come..."_

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><p>The warrior cursed herself inwardly. She had known it was just The Queen's way of getting her away for a while, but the young girl had wanted to believe. To believe for just a moment, that her premonitions were wrong, and that everything would be all right; even if her princess was going to marry that terrible, haughty, self-centered Earth prince.<p>

Nonetheless, she was just passing over Saturn when she had felt the power of the moon, power enough to temporarily blow her off course, even from that distance.

Immediately turning back around, she began racing full speed back to the moon; back to where her princess was.

_I'm almost there, just a little longer and...!_

"What..."

As she finally arrived at the moon, she could only make out that one word as her eyes took in the devastation that was once the most beautiful place in the galaxy. The entire royal capital was in ruins, the palace the only building that wasn't completely blown away.

And yet there was not the slightest hint of life. Nor was there any bodies, despite the obvious battle that had taken place. Slightly unnerved, the warrior made her way into the palace, heading immediately to the throne room. And there, leaning against a broken pillar, was the body of someone she knew better than most.

"Queen Serenity..."

Running over, she pulled the late queen into her arms. _This is exactly what I tried to prevent._

The warrior couldn't prevent the tears from falling down her cheeks as she held close the woman who acted as a mother to her all her life. "I swear, they will pay for this."

"There will be a time for that, but for now, we have other things that we must do."

The warrior didn't have to turn around to know who it was. There were very few people who were capable of the Sailor Teleport without aid. "Pluto...Did you know this was going to happen?"

Pluto shook her head, "Even if I did, there was nothing that I could do to stop it. We do not have time for remorse, we have duties to attend to. Allow me to take The Queen. I shall lay her to rest properly."

The warrior hesitated for a moment, then relented. She knew how close The Queen and Pluto were to each other. "Thank you. I am going to go find The Princess."

"The Princess is no longer in this world." The warrior whirled around, turning to face Pluto, "You found her! Who is responsible!"

Pluto waited for the young girl to calm down before she replied, "I arrived here shortly before you did, and consulted the Time Gate as to what happened. The Dark Kingdom, led by Beryl, was the main party responsible for the attack, and managed to kill everyone including the Guardian Senshi and the Princess. However, before she could be killed, Queen Serenity used the power of the Ginzuishou to seal away the Dark Kingdom and send all of the Moon Kingdom into the future where they will be reincarnated. However, doing this used up all of her life force."

The young warrior took all of this in before speaking, "Then... in the future, The Princess will return, along with the rest of the Moon Kingdom. However, there is a chance that our enemies will return, as well. Is that right?"

Pluto nodded, "Yes. As you know, by the queen's orders, I am to return to the Time Gate. Will you return with me and wait as well?"

"No. I still have to fulfill my duty. Now that The Alliance is no more, the solar system must restart from the beginning. There can be no traces of the silver millennium to influence it's future anymore. After that, I will find the Outer Senshi, and we will follow our princess."

"I see. Then I'll make sure to seek you out in the future. May the moon grant you serenity."

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><p>As she exited the palace, the young warrior noticed something shining in the distance. Approaching it, it revealed itself to be a beautiful sword.<p>

_The Holy Moon Blade! No wonder I didn't see it in the palace. Unfortunately, even I don't have the power to destroy that... And we can't take it to the Time Gate, it interferes with magic and whatnot. I'll just put it into a subspace pocket until I can return it to the princess._

The warrior reached out and grabbed the hilt, "Alright, here we-!"

Spinning around, the young girl swung the sword horizontally, cutting through two powerful jets of energy that would have otherwise hit her square in the back.

"Ah. Uranus, Neptune. Didn't expect for them to find _me_..."

Landing on the ground, the two Outer Senshi looked at the younger warrior with moderate surprise, "What are _you_ doing here? I thought Queen Serenity sent you to the Time Gate on a mission?"

The young warrior thought for a moment. _This could actually work out a lot easier than I thought. I might not have to actually fight them... _She proceeded to tell them what Pluto told her.

Uranus and Neptune looked at each other for a moment,

then nodded and began to circle around the young warrior, who sighed. _I should have known... Well, they __**were**__ charged with protecting the Solar System, and I __**am**__ about to destroy almost all of it... Hopefully, they will have forgiven me in the future._

"I don't have time for this. If you really want to fight me, then follow me to Earth. If you can keep up, that is."

And with that, the young warrior teleported away. "We can't let her get away," Uranus said, "We have to follow her!"

With a nod from Neptune, the two of them teleported, appearing in the middle of a vast field on the Earth. And it was only after they arrived that they realized their fatal mistake: the young warrior had not teleported to the Earth at all.

Instead, she had teleported to the one place that would amplify her power enough to allow her to reset everything in the Solar System with a single action: Saturn, the home planet of the young warrior.

As the Holy Moon Blade disappeared from her hand, it was replaced by the glaive that was the symbol of her duty, a weapon that represented the end of everything, a weapon that only one other person in the universe could wield.

The Silence Glaive.

And as she leapt high into the air, drawing on every ounce of power that the planet she was named after gave to her, the softest of whispers came from her mouth, so soft that not even she could hear it, but it resounded in her heart all the same._ Next time, I will never leave your side, my princess... my love._

"Death...Reborn...Revolution!"

The glaive came down.

And the galaxy was silenced.

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><p>AN: Aaannd, we're done. To be honest, I wrote this up after I started on another fic and realized I needed a prologue of sorts. Although, personally I think it makes an interesting one-shot as well. Let me know what you think! And of course, questions and comments are always welcome. Until next chapter~


	2. Prologue II: The Twists of Time

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

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><p>...It was night, the moon and stars hidden from view by the dark clouds in the sky, snow falling softly from the sky. Saeko Mizuno was on her way home for the night, having stayed extra hours at the hospital to facilitate the training of the new interns. In the back seat of her car, a small child, barely five, slept as the car moved down the empty Tokyo streets, her blue hair that was so much like her mother's fluttering slightly from the warm air the heater was giving off.<p>

She had just came to a halt at a stop light when she saw it. Street lights fizzled out as from the sky descended a massive shadowy hand, along with a cryptic voice. "_We've found you_."

Now, Dr. Mizuno was a down-to-Earth person. Much more so than your average doctor, who believed that if science couldn't explain it, something doesn't exist. And she had no doubt what was reality as she watched in horror, too shocked to move, as the hand plummeted down, crushing the small building that had been its target.

"Oh, my God..." Saeko was so in shock that she didn't notice the car door slam, and it was only when actually saw her little daughter running towards the shadow that she realized what she was seeing. "Ami! What are you- wait! STOP!"

Not stopping to listen, Ami ran up to the building, not noticing the shadow, that had turned its target to her.

"No!"

Just before the hand came down on her, something hit her from the side, knocking her away from the building as rubble flew everywhere from the impact.

Saeko had seen it. Just before Ami had been harmed, a small, golden blond figure had pushed her out of the way the monstrous hand falling upon her instead. The moment the dust settled, Ami began to rush towards the rubble again, only to be restrained by her mother.

"Ami, stop! We have to get away from here!"

"No! Let go mama! I have to help her!"

"No, you can't!"

"Mama, let go!"

Yet all the while, the hand had raised itself once again, and now fell forward to smash the rubble once more.

Saeko pulled her daughter underneath her, falling to the floor; determined protect her any way she could when it happened.

Before the hand could strike, a burst of powerful orange light enveloped the entire area, the shadow releasing a wretched cry as it disintegrated into the night sky.

For a while, nothing moved, as if time had come to a stop. Then, just as Saeko began to push herself up, something in the rubble moved. Remembering the blond child, Saeko and Ami got to their feet, the latter rushing over to the remains of what used to be an orphanage. "Hey, are you OK? Mama, come help!"

Rushing over to the scene, Saeko gave out a small gasp as she pushed aside a large chunk of rock Ami had been pulling on.

There was the blond child, half of her body trapped underneath the rubble. And Lying on top of her, protecting her upper body from the rubble that would have most likely crushed her was another child, with shoulder length raven hair. Her clothes were matted with blood from where the rubble fell on top of her, but she was still alive. They both were.

Pulling out her cell phone, Saeko praised every god she could think of that they were alive. The blond girl had saved her daughter's life, and that was something she would never forget. "Hello, this is Saeko Mizuno. There's been an accident."

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><p>Saeko sighed as she looked at her computer screen. It had been a week since the accident. Luckily for her, she didn't have to explain what had happened; it seemed it wasn't the first time something like that had happened, and the police chalked it up to a gas explosion. Some public servants, but, hey it worked for her.<p>

Since then, she had been acting as both primary doctor and overseer for the two children. The orphanage they were at had actually been scheduled to be demolished, and had been closed down, but apparently the two children had been staying there for god knows how long- they were terribly malnourished.

Saeko's eyes narrowed as her thoughts turned to the children's health. Aside from the injuries they had from the accident, there were other, _older_ injuries; cuts, bruises, scars. And... they had obviously been- the pen in her hand began to cry as it bent unnaturally- _sexually _assaulted.

SNAP.

Ignoring the now broken pen, Saeko's mind was still elsewhere. In truth, she knew very little information about the two girls. Not that this was for a lack of trying; quite the opposite, Saeko was a rather kind woman by nature, especially so when it came to children. Every time she would check up on the two or try to get them ready for an examination, she was always cheerful, talking kindly and happily to them about the nice day outside, how her daughter Ami had baked them cookies (with her help, of course); anything that she could think of.

Yet, it was to no avail. The two children were _extremely _guarded against other people, especially the black haired girl. In fact, the moment she had woken up, she promptly grabbed a nearby vase (Boda) and launched it at the doctor on duty (Saeko), who was preparing the blond girl for surgery. It was only after little Ami came in twenty minutes later with cookies that they managed to convince her they were there to help her and her friend; as well as to put down the statue of the goddess Venus (Botticelli).

It got to the point where most of the hospital staff was afraid to go into that room, and even more afraid to go near the raven haired girl's friend, for fear of flying statues. This fear lessened when said friend finally awoke three days after the two were admitted. She seemed to be less standoffish than her friend, her deep blue eyes holding the tiniest glint of innocence that _should have _filled both hers and her friend's. It was almost as if her eyes could see directly into your heart. And yet, even with that said, this girl was perhaps by far the more frightening of the two.

Because the child was utterly beautiful.

They both were, really, but the blond's beauty was on an entirely different level. An extremely dangerous level.

A level where, if you were not careful to restrain yourself, or you were not accustomed to being around her, her mere presence enticed people to touch her; an enticement that literally made people lose their sense of self, in an attempt to do something that they would regret for a long, very long time. Saeko had actually caught herself twice over the first couple of days glancing wistfully at the girl's sleeping figure. However, she quickly overcame such thoughts with genuine motherly love and affection as she continued to treat the child. But the most dangerous element of the girl's enticement, was that it was completely involuntary. The small child of course was not capable of even understanding the basic concept of human attraction.

And who in their right mind would expect her to? She and her friend were even younger than little Ami!

However, this was not to say she was a naive child. She was just as on guard as her younger companion, and she seemed very attuned to the disposition of others. A trait that Saeko believed was one of the reasons the girl was still alive. Along with her (Botticelli wielding) raven haired friend.

But even though Saeko was able to discern that much information about the two girls from observing them, she still didn't know a thing about them, not even their names. And it was all due to a simple reason.

The two children refused to speak.

In the entire week that the children had been admitted to the hospital, neither one had spoken a single word. Not even to each other. They refused to respond to any personal questions, and the questions they did respond to ('Does this hurt?', 'Are you feeling hungry?', etc) was answered with a nod or a shake of the head.

And yet somehow, they got along quite well with little Ami. Every time she'd visit, she'd leave happy and cheerful. The two bedridden children would listen as Ami told them about what she did that day, the picture she had colored, the little book she read all by herself, etc. And they would smile gently at her; the blond girl would wave Ami closer to her and pat her head whenever she told them something she was proud of. As a side affect, little Ami was the only one in the entire hospital who didn't have a chronic fear of Botticelli. Saeko was happy; Ami wasn't the best at making friends, mostly because she was always in the house while her mother was at work.

With a click, Saeko accessed the medical overview of the two girls. The raven haired had suffered slight head trauma, along with many cuts and bruises from the falling debris, but she was recovering nicely. Her friend on the other hand...

The blond that saved her daughter's life was not so lucky. On top of the cuts and scars, as well as head trauma, she had multiple broken ribs, her left arm fractured, and both of her legs broken. If that was all, she would have been counted as lucky, but...

She would never be able to walk again. Although the scars and cuts would heal, her legs would never hold her up and parade her around anymore. They hadn't told her yet, unsure how she would react to the news. After all, she was just a child...

Getting up from her desk, Saeko grabbed her purse, preparing to leave, and decided to check up on the two girls before she left. As she got closer to the door, she could hear the sound of movement, and before she could open it, the sound of voices brought her to a halt. Silently, she ever so slowly opened the door just enough so she could see what was going on, and felt her heart begin to beat rapidly at what she saw.

Sitting atop her friend, the raven haired girl was gently running her tongue along the blond girl's body; or to be more precise, she was running her tongue along every part of the girl that had a cut or scar, gently licking each injury. And the blond was doing the same to her, but stopped, suddenly gasping in pain for a moment.

"I'm sorry U-chan, did I hurt you! Maybe we're doing it wrong..."

Smiling slightly, the blond shook her head, "I'm okay. I think we just have to get used to it. Remember what the storybook said? 'Licking injuries help them to get better'. And see, we're getting better, too! It's just like the queen lady told us!"

But she said you can't walk anywhere anymore, too! I can't just leave you alone to go with that doctor lady! We can't trust adults! All they ever do is lie and hurt us! Hurt you! I can't protect you if we are away from each other!"

The blond girl hugged her friend, patting her head gently. "I believe the queen lady, Ho-chan. I don't know why. I don't trust adults. They're all bad. But, I think we can listen to what the queen lady said. She seemed so kind, that-!"

At the sound of a creak, the two girls spun around and glared at the door. Realizing she had been caught, Saeko quietly walked into the room, her eyes on the two girls.

Noticing she was looking at them, the raven haired girl's, 'Ho-chan's' face turned dark as she realized that they were still partially naked. "See U-chan? This lady is just like everyone else."

Covering her friend, 'U-chan' with the bed sheet, 'Ho-chan' slowly got off of the bed and approached Saeko.

Surprised, Saeko didn't resist as the girl pulled her to an empty bed nearby. Then, suddenly, 'Ho-chan' pushed her onto the bed.

"Wait, what are you-mm!" Her words were cut short as the shirtless girl's lips pushed against her's in a kiss. A very sensual kiss. For a moment, Saeko's mind went blank. It was only when she felt the girl grab her hand and pull it onto her chest that she regained her senses.

Gently, but forcefully, Saeko pushed the girl off of her, sitting her down on the bed. "What in the world are you doing!"

'Ho-chan's' face was still dark as she glared at the woman with absolute hatred and disgust, "This is what you want, isn't it? Just like all the other adults in the world. What's wrong, shouldn't either one of us be good enough? Well you'd better be happy with me, cuz I won't let you get anywhere near Usagi-chan!" Getting up, 'Ho-chan' walked over to the bed that Usagi was on, and spread her arms out protectively, all the while still glaring at Saeko.

Sitting on the bed, Saeko took a moment to take in what the girl had just said, as well as what she had just done. The depth of which these two girls had been physically and mentally scarred was far beyond what she could have imagined.

They had been abused to the point where there was only hatred and distrust towards all adults. These children were less than five years old, and yet had been exposed to sexual abuse so much that they expected abuse from any adult who approached them, and the raven haired girl was willing to initiate it herself to avoid her friend being targeted. This was just too horrible. This was something no person, let alone child should have to deal with.

Saeko could see it in their eyes. They were not the innocent eyes of children who were naive of the evils of the world. No, they were the eyes of those who dwelled in the darkness. Eyes that had seen the darkest of the world, and had learned to survive through it. And yet, their eyes still held a bit of the innocence that four year old children should have. It was truly a heartbreaking sight.

Slowly, Saeko got off of the bed and approached the raven haired girl. And ever so gently, she wrapped a bed sheet around the young child. "Children like you shouldn't have to face such terrible things," And before the child could react, She had grabbed her in a tight hug, tears in her eyes, "We adults should be protecting you, not causing you so much grief. I'm sorry. For all the things that you two have been through, I'm sorry. I know I can't take away the pain and suffering you two have gone through, but I promise that I can make sure that you never have to face those things again..."

After struggling for a few moments, the girl finally stopped resisting and simply let the woman continue to hug her, the woman now openly crying into the girl's small shoulders. The girl was feeling conflicted, unsure of what to do. She had never been in this kind of situation before, Nervously, she looked to her friend.

The blond girl, Usagi smiled softly at her friend and spoke softly, so softly that only her friend could hear, "Maybe we can try to believe this lady. The queen lady said that we should trust her, so I think that we should give her a chance, Hotaru-chan."

Saeko must have heard, because she moved over and embraced her as well, still sobbing all the while. Hotaru looked at her for a moment, and then replied to Usagi just as softly.

"I don't trust her, but I trust _you,_ Usagi-chan. If you believe in her, then I will too."

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><p>AN: And with this, we have finished part two of the opening of Duty of the Heart. I'm want to make sure that everything is properly explained before I completely launch into the heart of the story. The next chapter will be the last of the opening, subtly named the Darkness Arc.

This chapter is rather dark, touching on the darkness that is a reality in the real world, a darkness that most people either choose to ignore, or are completely unaware of. While some people might be 'offended' by the actions of Usagi and Hotaru thus far, it is important to understand what they have gone through up to this point of their lives.

When children face abuse at a very young age, they respond in one of two ways. Either they lose touch with reality, not caring what happens to them anymore, or they learn to survive through the darkness, finding ways to protect themselves any way that they can.

This means either becoming subservient willing to get the pain and suffering over with as soon as possible, or learning to hate; distrusting and rebelling against all adults in general, attaining a mentality that all adults want to hurt them, and that they can only rely on themselves and the other children who are their self-proclaimed 'family'.

At any rate, this chapter is finished, and as usual, your opinions and comments on the story this far are greatly appreciated. Any questions, feel free to PM me, I'm always up to answering any questions that you may have.

Until next time!


	3. Prologue Finale: Thus, life continues

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

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><p>The staff at the hospital were utterly amazed with the change in the two girls. No one knew how, but it was obvious that Saeko's efforts to get open the children's hearts had begun to pay off. Although the children made it obvious that they didn't trust <em>anyone<em>, they were now on speaking terms with her. At least, Usagi was. Hotaru, on the other hand, would only speak the bare minimum to her. Ami on the hand was the other exception. It seemed that now that they had decided to speak at all, they were completely comfortable talking with the child of Saeko.

At first, Saeko was worried about what the children would talk about; there were many things that the two orphans knew about that children shouldn't, but her worries were in vain. The two children were at least adapt when it came to talking to other children, and were very good at hiding things that they felt people their own age shouldn't know.

Then came then matter of their future. Needless to say, the two children had no way of personally covering the hospital fees. That in itself was okay, because the government would cover their expenses.

The problem came with what would happen to them after the were released from the hospital. Even before they were on speaking terms, Saeko had every intention of adopting the two children. She knew it would be difficult to raise three children on her own, but she was determined to do whatever she could for those two, especially Usagi. She had saved little Ami's life, after all. And she and Ami got along very well. However, when she asked the children themselves, she got a surprising response.

"We're waiting for someone." That's what they had said. When Saeko had asked them who they were waiting on, they said they didn't know. Only that they were waiting for 'The Guardian' and that they would make their decision after she came.

Of course, Saeko was skeptical about this 'Guardian' actually existing, but she decided to wait a few days before talking to them about it. As it happened, a few days later, 'The Guardian' appeared.

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><p>It was night when it happened. Usagi and Hotaru had fallen asleep while reading a book, along with Ami. Putting Hotaru back onto her own bed, Saeko suddenly spun around when she sensed someone else in the room. "...Who are you?"<p>

The woman, who was gazing at Usagi turned to face her. Her skin was darker than the average Japanese person, and her hair was dark olive. But what stood out about her was the strange sailor uniform and skirt she wore, along with the staff that rested in her hand. The woman looked at Saeko for a moment, and then nodded. "I am Pluto, the Sailor Senshi of Time, and protector of the princess. Although, you may have heard of me simply as 'The Guardian'."

"'The Guardian!' Then you must be the woman the girls were talking about! But what do you mean by Sailor Senshi? And what princess do you speak of?"

"We Sailor Senshi are the guardians and princesses of our own respective planets, as well as the solar system. Our princess and the one we have sworn loyalty to is the princess of the moon. Long ago, there was an era known as the 'Silver Millennium'. During this time, all of the planets in the solar system save Earth were members of what was known as the 'Silver Alliance', where the Moon kingdom has the highest authority and the most power, as well as a wonderful queen. It was an era of great prosperity and power for the entire solar system. However, all good shall always attract evil, and The Alliance was attacked by the Dark Kingdom, completely destroying it. However, The Moon Queen used her powers at the last moment to seal away the evil, and send them, along with her daughter and her protectors and people into the future to be reborn on Earth, that they might be able to live out their lives in peace."

I alone have lived throughout the ages, have seen the end of the Silver Millennium, and have watched the Earth grow and prosper, always awaiting the time when my comrades and our princess would be born again, and always fighting to keep the darkness from returning."

Saeko had remained silent until the woman, Pluto, had finished. By all accounts, her story would normally seem ludicrous to anyone, however; whether it was the aura of power that radiated from the young woman or the fact that she had recently been attacked by something that practically screamed 'Dark Kingdom', she couldn't help but feel this woman was telling the truth. But still...

"And why have you come here? Don't tell me..."

Pluto nodded, "Yes, I have come here because of the children in this room. Before we continue, allow me to change..."

There was a small burst of light, and Pluto was now wearing a generic business suit, her staff nowhere to be found. "In this form, you may call me Setsuna Meioh. And yes, I really am a business woman. Here's my Identification Card."

Taking the card, Saeko continued, "About the children..."

Setsuna walked over to the bed, where Hotaru was sleeping, and gently patted her head. The moment she did so, the symbol of Saturn began to blaze on her forehead in a powerful orange light; a light that was both terrifying and soothing. "This child, Hotaru, is the reborn Sailor Saturn, one of the more powerful Senshi. And this girl..."

Instead of walking over to Usagi, like Saeko expected, instead Setsuna walked over to Ami and placed her hand on the top of her head. Like Hotaru, a symbol began to glow on the child's forehead. However, instead of a powerful aura like Saturn's, it was a soft blue light that radiated from the symbol of Mercury. "And little Ami here is the reborn Sailor Mercury, the Senshi of water. She is also a member of the princesses' personal guard, sworn to protect her from all harm."

Saeko was more than a little surprised, "You're telling me that my little Ami is really the reincarnation of a guardian of the solar system. And that she was a princess in her previous life, and that she is a personal bodyguard of the moon princess. Are you telling me that my daughter is not really my own?"

"That is up for you to decide," Setsuna replied, "But regardless of anything else, you were the one who gave birth to her in this life, and you are the one who is currently raising her to be a fine young girl."

Saeko took all of it in, "I see. Does this mean that the 'Dark Kingdom' is active again? Even if they were Senshi in their past lives, children such as themselves cannot possibly defeat such evil! They're barely old enough for school!"

Setsuna patted Ami's head once again before answering, "Senshi are always very young when they first begin their training. And they were around the age of nineteen when the Dark Kingdom attacked and they died fighting.

Setsuna's expression softened slightly as she looked at Saeko's shocked expression, "Do not worry. While it is true that the Dark Kingdom has began its activities once again, it will be a while yet before they will come back into the power that they had before. Until that time comes, I will deal with them as they come while training young Hotaru and Ami in the ways of a Senshi so that history may not repeat itself. The Dark Kingdom must not be allowed to prevail in this era. It will mean the end of everything and everyone on this planet."

Saeko realized the logic and the seriousness of what Setsuna said, "And how will this happen? Do you intend to adopt Hotaru? I will not just give up my daughter Ami."

Setsuna shook her head and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Saeko took hold and read it. "You already have legal guardianship of both Hotaru and Usagi!"

Setsuna nodded, "I have been watching over them all of their lives. However, as the guardian of time, I am do not have the ability to interfere with what is to happen; only to forge my own path in what I think is the best way, without looking into the future. That is why I could not come to them before now."

"I see," Saeko replied, "Then, when will the training begin? And where will it take place?"

"I have a home that is not too far from here. That is where we will begin our training. However, little Ami's training will not begin for a few years, yet. Her power will not be needed as soon, and it will be best for her to grow up more before she becomes a Senshi."

"So you will be taking Hotaru and Usagi then?" Saeko tried to keep the sorrow from her voice.

Setsuna smiled slightly, "I will be taking complete custody of Hotaru. But as for Usagi..."

Saeko realized for first time that throughout the entire conversation, Usagi had been the only one who had not been mentioned. "And what of Usagi? You didn't mention at all before. Is she not a Sailor Senshi as well?"

Saeko noticed how Setsuna's expression changed ever so slightly as she looked at the blonde child. It was a soft, warm expression that she had yet to see from the woman. "Little Usagi is... special. _Very_ special. She is not a Sailor Senshi, nor was she one in her previous life. On that note, I am assuming that be content with taking custody of her?"

Saeko was surprised, "You're asking me to take custody of her..?"

"Yes. You were already planning to do so, were you not? However, I will be keeping care of little Hotaru. Are you fine with taking care care of Usagi?"

"Of course I am fine of taking care of Usagi!" Saeko replied immediately, "But, is it okay to separate the two children?"

"No, we cannot just separate Hotaru and Usagi from each other. However, my home is not far from yours. Usagi and Hotaru will be able to see each other whenever they wish, especially when Hotaru and Ami begin their training. That, and I will be handling both Hotaru and Usagi's education myself."

Even if at this point she couldn't be surprised further, Saeko was certainly startled. "You will take care of their education? So you will be teaching them personally?"

"Yes, I have a Doctorate degree in both education and child psychology. I would also be happy to pick up Ami from school when you have to work late at the hospital. I know that your work keeps you busy, and I'm sure that the children would love to spend time together. I wouldn't mind teaching Ami as well, even if you simply want her to get some extra lessons. I fear that cram schools these days simply prepare one to pass a test, and not to achieve true knowledge and wisdom.

Secretly, Saeko had also thought that about cram schools, but had never bothered to mention it to anyone. For some reason that she could not fathom, she felt that she could completely trust Setsuna. "That would be nice. It would definitely be easier than looking for a cram school, or paying someone to look after them."

"Yes, besides, it is important for them to become closer to each other, because they will have to work together in the future. It will be their roles to protect the princess once again in the near future."

Saeko nodded, then thought of something, "I almost forgot to ask, but about the Moon Princess. If everyone is to protect her, do you know where she is? Has she been reborn as well?"

"I cannot give you information about her, for her own safety," Setsuna replied, "But I can tell you that she has been reborn, and that she is fine. I am always watching over her, as well. She is our princess, after all."

Saeko smiled to herself, "That is good to know. But as for the children, do you think they will agree? Hotaru and Usagi seem pretty inseparable. Will they really be okay with living in different households?"

Setsuna smiled, and then turned to the hospital beds, "Well, what do you think, Usagi-chan, Hotaru-chan?"

After a moment, the two children slowly sat up, having listened in on the whole conversation quietly, to the shock of Saeko. "See, Ho-chan?" Usagi giggled, "Just like the queen lady said!" Then she turned to Setsuna and Saeko, "I like it! Because I like Ami-chan, and Saeko-okaasan, too. But, if Ho-chan doesn't like it, then I will go with Puu, too."

Setsuna couldn't help but to smile at the childish nickname.. No matter how much time passed, some things never changed

Hotaru looked straight at Setsuna, "Setsuna-san. Will going with that lady and Ami-chan be good for U-chan?" Setsuna nodded. Then, Hotaru spoke more quietly, "Will being this Sailor Saturn help me protect U-chan?"

Setsuna patted her head, but her expression was serious, "How strong you become will be up to you, but if you really want to protect her, you will become strong for her sake. Although, our primary objective is to protect the princess and to keep peace in the solar system."

Hotaru thought for a moment, "...You said I can visit her whenever I want, right?"

A nod.

"And we will be together in the day time?"

More nods.

"...Then, I guess it's 'kay. But..."

Her eyes turned back to Saeko, and there was a dark glare on her face, "Don't you dare hurt Usagi-chan. If you do, I'll-ow!"

The Usagi-chan in question threw a pillow at Hotaru, "It'll be 'kay, Ho-chan. Just wait and see; I have a warm feeling!"

* * *

><p>And so, it happened. Hotaru was taken into the custody of Setsuna while Usagi was adopted by Saeko and became a member of the Mizuno family (Much to the displeasure of Hotaru; she had quite liked Usagi's last name). During the daytime, Usagi would be picked up by Setsuna and taken to her home (Which was actually not that far away from Saeko's home) and would together with Hotaru be schooled on numerous subjects ranging from standard classes to lessons about the universe that none but one who had spanned eternity could teach.<p>

The two families grew only closer as time passed, and people in the city and local restaurants became accustomed to seeing the three children, with either Saeko or Setsuna. Hotaru let go of her dislike of Usagi's new mother, although she had made it clear that her original threat still stood. And with her new found training as a Senshi, it was a threat that held much force behind it.

As for the training itself, it began with simple training exercises that both Ami _and_ Usagi were allowed to participate in, involving mainly meditation and other mental exercises. When it became more intense and personal, Ami and Usagi were not allowed to watch or participate; instead they opted to either study or read unless Saeko was present. Then they would go out for a stroll to various places.

Saeko took very good care of Usagi. She always took the time to take her out around the town in a wheelchair, alongside Ami and often Hotaru. Everyone in the neighborhood absolutely loved her, and Ami had had a large influence on her demeanor. She had always shown that she was quite sharp-minded, but Ami's eagerness to learn began to rub off on her, and she became more interested in learning as a result.

Of course, there were ups and downs, especially for Saeko. She had been warned explicitly by Setsuna to never mention anything about Senshi or the Silver Millennium by Setsuna, and she had also been warned about the children themselves. Or rather, some of the differences between them and ordinary Earthlings. And it was about one such occasion that Setsuna had gotten a surprise visit from Saeko.

It was mid afternoon, and Hotaru and Usagi were working on ancient languages of the solar system when Saeko and Ami came over. The unusual part was that it was a school day for Ami. Saeko seemed agitated, so Setsuna sent the children upstairs while they talked.

The school Ami attended had their annual school physical. Being a better-than-average school, the physical included blood tests to look for known diseases. The problem had come when Saeko got a call from the school stating that there was something wrong with Ami's blood. To put it simply, they couldn't even determine what blood type it was. Saeko had managed to alleviate the situation by stating that Ami was taking part in a clinical research that was attempting to find a new cure for blood transmitted diseases, and that the medicine had an effect on her blood. However, she had remembered Setsuna mentioning something similar and decided to come straight over.

Setsuna did a check-up on Ami and revealed that the Mercurian blood inside of her had awakened, along with her inner Senshi. Most likely due to her constantly being around two awakened Senshi. As a result, the blood inside of her body had changed, along with a few other features. It was then decided that both Saeko and Setsuna would install small medical facilities in their homes. It would be far too much of a risk to have to take her or Hotaru to the hospital, and would bring up many unwanted questions. Shortly after that, Ami began her training as a Senshi.

After a while, Setsuna had Usagi stop participating in the others' training. Instead, while they were training as Senshi, she was taught many other things. Precognition, slight telepathy, laws and customs of various nations and planets, a light ability to heal small injuries, many things. Usagi never questioned why she was not a Sailor Senshi. From the information that she was given by Setsuna, she came to the conclusion that she was a good friend of all of the Sailor Senshi, or perhaps a relative of one. But she was not sad. She had already realized that even if she had been a Senshi, her legs would never allow her to move and train the way Ami and Hotaru did. Besides, she was simply happy that she and Hotaru had found people that they could trust, and that they could be like the other children with homes and families.

Ami was especially aware of this. As the child grew, she began to realize more and more the sacrifice that Usagi had made to save her life. She became a kind, doting older sister, who was almost as protective as Hotaru. Between the two children and the two adults, Usagi was almost never by herself, and never felt left out.

But sometimes, she would suddenly decide to stay in her room at Setsuna's home, and stare out of the window all day with a forlorn expression. During these times, she would refuse to talk to anyone except Setsuna. Not even Hotaru. She'd confided in Setsuna that sometimes, she would feel as if there was something missing in their lives, like there were people that were supposed to be there who weren't. Setsuna told her that her heart was beginning to remember her friends of the past, and that the feeling would go away as the other Sailor Senshi and the princess were found. This greatly relieved the young child.

And yet, she was also warned along with the others. About how there were people in the world who's goal was to harm them, and that they should always be careful around people that they didn't know.

As if Hotaru and Usagi needed to be reminded of that.

The two never let their guard down. Hotaru especially. Usagi wasn't sure what, but there was something that Hotaru wasn't telling her. And it had made her even more protective of Usagi then before, to the point where she wouldn't let anyone outside of their family anywhere _near_ her. But Usagi didn't mind. When the other Senshi arrived, Setsuna would let them know. And she didn't have a reason to talk to anyone outside of their family anyway. And so, time passed.

And thus, life continued.

* * *

><p>AN: And here we are, the final chapter of the opening, the Darkness Arc. With this, the die has been cast and the characters have began to assemble by the invisible hand of fate. And yet, how will this performance play out..?

As always, I want to hear from you about how you feel thus far! And also as always, if you have any questions, PM me. I'm always willing to answer any questions readers may have.

Until next time!


	4. Sisters, Senshi, and Secrets

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

* * *

><p>"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"<p>

A torrent of freezing water tore flooded the shadow that had moments before tried to strike Saturn from behind, completely freezing it solid before it shattered into billions of ice crystals, completely destroyed.

"Was that the last one?" the Mercury Senshi asked, as she moved over to where Saturn was.

'_Your left!'_

Saturn's glaive moved, slicing apart the shadow that came at them from the side. "_That_ was the last one. Right, U-chan?"

'_Yes,' _a voice echoed in their minds, '_There are no more youma in the area. But, you have other guests.'_

Sure enough, a moment later, three more figures came into view, all wearing Senshi uniforms similar to Saturn and Mercury's. "What happened to the youma?"

"We killed them." Saturn replied simply, and the two turned away from them to walk away.

"Wait!" The blond haired Senshi, Venus shouted, "We're all Sailor Senshi! Our duty is to find and protect the princess! We should be working together! Why do you keep rejecting us?"

"We have our own objectives," Mercury replied, "We don't need help finding the princess, nor do we wish to team up with you. To be honest, you three would just burden us."

* * *

><p>High above them, Usagi sat on the top of a large building, listening to their conversation as she watched them from above. Although she couldn't help them by fighting alongside them physically, she had been determined to help her sisters any way she could. And thus, she began to train in battle support and how to defend herself, aiding them in various ways throughout their many battles. It had taken her many years to control and hone her abilities, but she never gave up, and eleven years later here she was, a brilliant support specialist to her two allies.<p>

"And just who might you be, sitting all the way up here?" Usagi spun her body around. Without her noticing, somehow a man in a black tuxedo had managed to get close enough to be within striking range of her.

"No quick movements," He ordered, pulling a red rose from his tux, "Wouldn't want anything to happen to your pretty face. Now tell me, why are you so interested in that meeting down there? You wouldn't be plotting something, would you?"

"..." Usagi stared at the man. She didn't know why, but this man seemed very familiar. But even so, he _was_ the one threatening her with a... rose. Moving backwards ever so slightly, her hand edged towards her pocket when-

"Ah."

Before the man could move, he was pinned to the ground, the silence glaive at his throat. In the same instant, Mercury had picked up Usagi in her arms and retreated to the opposite side of the roof. "And just what the hell were _you_ plotting?" Saturn hissed, venom etched all over her voice, "I don't know who you are, but you just made a huge mistake."

"Wait!" Saturn stomped on the masked man as Venus, Mars, and Jupiter arrived on the roof, "Tuxedo Kamen is on our side!"

"...Hmph." With a vicious kick, Saturn sent Kamen flying into Jupiter, who caught him. "And Usagi-chan is on ours. This is your only warning. If you so much as come near her again, I will kill you. It doesn't matter if you are a Sailor Senshi, enemy, or ally; anyone who comes near her again will meet the same fate."

"How dare you threaten us!," Venus shouted angrily, "I'm the leader of the Sailor Senshi! Who do you think you-"

She went silent as the glaive rose to face her, Saturn glaring at the four of them. "Get your facts straight, Venus. While you are the leader of the princesses' personal guard, the _inner Senshi,_ you are not the leader of all of the Senshi. To be honest, none of you inner Senshi are anywhere near as capable as the _Outer Senshi. Or_ me."

She wasn't being arrogant, nor was she being conceited. It was just a fact; one that both she and Mercury knew well.

"Wait a moment! Who are you? You're not one of the inner Senshi! Nor are you one of the Outer Senshi!"

From behind Venus a small white cat appeared, a yellow crescent moon on its forehead. However, once he noticed the weapon the girl was wielding, his surprise turned to shock and awe. "T-that's the Silence Glaive! There's only two people in the universe who can wield that! You! You must be Sailor Saturn!"

"Saturn?" Venus asked the cat, "Artemis, I've never heard of a Sailor Saturn!"

Artemis ignored her. "Are you truly her? Why have you awakened?"

Saturn nodded. "I am indeed Sailor Saturn, the Soldier of Ruin and Rebirth, as well as the Soldier of Silence. I was awakened by Sailor Pluto in order to combat the Dark Kingdom, who has begun to break the seal that was placed on them long ago, as well as to protect the princess. Although an Inner Senshi, Mercury was also awakened at an early age and trained alongside me."

"Who is Sailor Pluto?" Jupiter asked Artemis, frowning slightly at the unfamiliar name.

"The Guardian of Time and Space," Artemis replied, shocking Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, "She is the oldest and wisest of the Solar Sailor Senshi, and the only one who has lived since Silver Millennium. Her duty is to watch over time itself. She also acts as an advisor to the queen and princess, as well as the unofficial leader of the Outer Senshi. She's pretty much the second-in-command of the Solar Sailor Senshi as a whole. When she's around, anyway. But if she awakened Saturn, then things must be serious..."

"Why?" Mars asked, "What is so special about Saturn? I mean, are the Outer Scouts really that strong?"

"There is no real comparison," Artemis replied, shaking his head, "The Inner Scouts' primary duty has always been to act as the princesses' personal guard. Protecting her has always been your main objective, and a certain amount of training was required. However the Outers were different. Their duty is to protect the Solar System from outside intruders, and to wage war on any force that would try to harm us in the name of the queen. They are battle-oriented Senshi who are devoted to the queen and princess, and who are authorized to act independently as needed. As such, they are much more capable than you all. However, Sailor Saturn is not one of the Outers. She's a special Senshi."

"What do you mean special?" Venus asked, "How is she different from the rest of us?"

"Sailor Saturn is the Senshi of Ruin and Rebirth. Her duty is; if need be; to bring an end to everything so that a new beginning may occur. She is by far the strongest of the Solar Sailor Senshi, second only to the princess herself. Her powers are such that if fully utilized, she could destroy an entire galaxy with a single swing of her glaive if deemed necessary. And if she's been trained by Pluto, her combat skills are top-notch."

"But still," Artemis continued, "Why was Mercury awoken early as well? Did something happen?"

Saturn thought about the question for a moment, debating whether to answer or not, and was relieved when Mercury herself responded. "The three of us have known each other since we were small children. For all intents and purposes, we're sisters. _Very close_ sisters. When Saturn was awakened, the Dark Kingdom began to increase its activities, so it was decided to awaken me, as well."

"That would also explain why the three of you are so protective of each other," Venus replied after a moment, "Look, we're sorry for the misunderstanding earlier. Can we all meet together and at least talk? Even if we don't work alongside each other, we can still talk and communicate with each other, right?"

Mercury and Saturn glanced at each other for a moment, neither of the two very willing to agree without consulting Pluto first.

"Stop."

Everyone turned to Usagi, who until now had not spoke a word to anybody. She was glaring daggers at Sailor Mars, who for her part looked absolutely astonished. Immediately Saturn brandished her weapon once again as Mercury moved further back, "What happened, U-chan? What did psychic-girl do?"

Venus and Jupiter got in into fighting stance as well, anxiety showing on their faces as they glanced warily at the glaive in front of them. Mars however, stopped them. "It's okay, guys, it was my fault." Still slightly amazed, she turned to Usagi, "I'm sorry for being rude. I just wanted to know a little more about you, but I guess that's not the best excuse..."

It was unusual for the fiery Mars to apologize so quickly, but then, the Silence Glaive _did_ have that effect on people. Usagi stared hard at Mars for a moment. "I think talking with each other is a wonderful idea. How about we all meet at the Crown Game Center tomorrow? We can sit down and have a long chat. No transformations. _Or _mind searching."

"That's fine," Venus replied, looking at her companions for confirmation, "What time should we meet? Is the afternoon fine? How will we know each other?"

Usagi smiled, "The afternoon is fine. And just look for me; I'm sure you'll find me quickly. Until then!"

In a burst of light, they disappeared, to the astonishment of the three Inners and Artemis. "It looks like Mercury is more powerful than before," The cat commented, "To be able to teleport by herself is extremely impressive, let alone taking someone with her. Anyway, let's call it a night, you guys."

As the Inners and Kamen dispersed, Mars stayed behind, staring at where Usagi and Mercury had just been moments before. _What is it about that girl..? She noticed me trying to read into their thoughts... And why does she seem so familiar, like I should know her..?_

* * *

><p>"The nerve of that- that <em>man<em>!" In the living room of the Meioh household, Hotaru was currently pacing back and forth, going on an angry rant, while Ami and Usagi sat on the couch. "I swear, the next time I see him, I'll send him straight to hell!"

The fact that it was Hotaru, aka the Senshi of Ruin and Rebirth saying so, it was a viable threat.

"Still, 'Sagi-chan," Ami said, changing the subject, "Why did you agree to meet with them without talking with us? You know we always talk things through with each other first."

Usagi sighed and reached her arms out to Hotaru. Picking her up bridal style, Hotaru took her into the kitchen, followed by Ami, and began to prep for dinner after setting Usagi down in a chair at the table. "It was Sailor Mars." Usagi answered as Ami poured her a cup of water, "She was trying to poke into our minds for information. I almost blasted her out of reflex. It's not good with her trying to pry for information. I thought that we would be better off telling them what we want them to know ourselves. I'm sorry for making the decision all of a sudden, especially since I'm not a Senshi..."

"Don't be silly, 'Sagi-chan," Ami said, rubbing Usagi's head, "To us, it doesn't matter if you're a Senshi or not, you're still a valuable part of the team, as well as our precious Usagi! So stop that moping!"

"Thanks, Ami-nee," Usagi smiled bashfully, "Still, I wish I could be of more help to you-mph!"

Usagi fell silent as a finger was pushed against her mouth. "Hush now. Didn't we say not to talk about that anymore? You saved Ami-nee's life that day. Do you regret it?"

"Never." Usagi replied immediately, then smiled as she realized what Hotaru meant. She knew, if she had to choose between walking and her sister, she would choose Ami every time.

"Then enough about that. Back to tomorrow. I have to go to the Time-Gate to talk to Mama, so I can't go with you. Please, _please _be sure to be careful. Ami, make sure to protect U-chan. U-chan, if you feel something is wrong, use _that _power; call out to either me or Mama, and we'll be there immediately. Okay?"

"Don't worry, Ho-chan. We're going to be at Crown the entire time. It'll be perfectly-"

"U-chan."

"...Okay. We'll be careful."

"Good. Now, let's eat."

Dinner was relatively quiet, Usagi preferring to use her mouth to eat more and talk less. However, when she was finished, she sat quietly for a moment, then looked at the others. "Hey... is it really alright for you to not look for the princess? I know what Puu said and all, but-"

Once again, the blond girl was silenced; this time by Ami pushing a small cookie into her mouth. "How many times do we have to tell you, 'Sagi-chan? Remember what Setsuna-san said? Our duty's not to look for the princess, it's to protect _you_, the Silver Guardian. And _that's_ a duty that we will happily follow through with. Even when the princess _does_ appear. For us, you're our most important person."

They both knew about Usagi's fears. Deep down, it tormented her how instead of looking for their princess, they were protecting _her_. She loved them both, but felt she wasn't worthy to have protectors, especially when said protectors (or, at least one of them) were supposed to be protecting the princess herself. She wasn't a Senshi. All she knew was that she was distantly related to the Moon and Venus royal families. But even so, she was merely a Silver Guardian; one whose duty was to watch over the Ginzuishou, an ancient relic of the Moon Kingdom, until she could return it to the princess.

And yet, to not even try to find the Moon Princess... It felt like she was denying the one thing that made her even a little close to the others, like she was betraying her duty! And Ami and Hotaru knew it was tearing her up inside.

"Usagi-chan." Hotaru gently stroked her cheek, looking her directly in the eyes, "Don't you trust Mama?"

"Of course I do!" Usagi, shocked, cried, "I-"

"Do you trust _me?_" A whisper.

"Yes." A reply.

"Then no more worrying. Remember: Ami-nee and I are Senshi. If we felt that there was something wrong with our duties, then we would never agree to it. And stop selling yourself short; you're very important, and so is your duty. Now come on, it's time for bed. If Ami-nee was ever late for school, Saeko-san would kill us all!"

Lifting Usagi up again, Hotaru carried her away to the bedroom the three shared when together while Ami cleared the dishes, smiling slightly at the pair. It wasn't as if Usagi couldn't go here and there with her wheelchair; rather, Ami and Hotaru had gotten into the habit of carrying her once they had found out their training made them very physically fit. And Usagi herself was very, almost unnaturally light.

As Hotaru came back into the kitchen, Ami's face turned serious. "How much was it today..?"

Hotaru shook her head, "She tried to hide it, but the moment I put her in bed, she was out. It's drawing more and more energy every day. She was so drained, she didn't even notice that I was feeding her my own energy whenever I picked her up."

"Usually 'Sagi-chan's really in tune with people's aura's and their energy. If it's gotten to the point where she's beginning to not notice something she always does..."

"Yeah. It looks like we're beginning to run out of time. Ironic, seeing as time's almost completely stopped for the three of us."

"Are you going to search outside of the city tomorrow?"

"Yeah. The only thing we know for sure is that _it's_ somewhere in this country. For all we know, a youma could have it, or it could be buried far underground. There's even a possibility that some normal Earthling could have it!"

"It doesn't matter; we'll find it no matter what. If a youma has it, we'll kill it and take it back. If it's underground, we'll blast the earth away until we get to it. If a human has it..."

"...Then, we'll take it from them." Hotaru finished, the symbol of Saturn burning brightly on her forehead, "I doesn't matter if they're Earthlings or even Senshi. And if they refuse to hand it over..."

"They'll die." Ami stated simply, her eyes colder than her icy powers as she looked at the night sky through the window, "If it's for Usagi, we'll do anything, no matter what the cost or who gets in the way."

"Mm. Now Ami-nee?"

"Hm?"

"Let's go to bed too. I was serious about your mom killing us."

* * *

><p>Outside of Crown Game Center Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, and Mamoru Chiba leaned against the wall, waiting for their friend. "I can't believe Minako got detention today of all days! It's already been half an hour!"<p>

"Calm down Rei, see, there she is."

Indeed, the beautiful blond girl with deep blue eyes was running up to them as they spoke.

"Sorry-*hah* I'm late-*hah* you guys!"

"It's okay. Are you all ready?" Makoto looked at her friends, "Even if it _is _Crown, I think we should still be on guard. Especially you, Mamoru. Saturn made it clear that she'd pretty much kill anyone who comes near that girl with ill-intent, and she was staring at you the entire time."

Mamoru brushed the comment aside, "That was merely a misunderstanding. I'm sure that we will get past that in no time."

"Nonetheless," Minako nodded, looking through the glass doors, "Let's try _not_ no piss them off. We're here to make allies, not enemies."

With everyone in agreement, Minako opened the door and they went in. "Man, it's even more crowded than usual!" It was. Crown was always a fairly popular place amongst teens, but occasionally there would be a day where there was _a lot _more people at the diner area than usual. Up until this point, they had never bothered to find out why it was so crowded on such days, but it looked like today they had no choice. Pushing their way through the crowd closer to the counter, a melodic voice began to fill their ears...

_~You've reached the deepest part~  
>~Of the secret in my heart~<br>~I've known it from the start~_

Entranced, they moved closer subconsciously. As they finally made their way to the front of the crowd, they gasped in unison, their breath taken away as they gazed at the image they were seeing. Sitting atop the ordering counter was a young girl whom the word beauty did no justice. Her lovely blond hair cascaded all around her, long enough that it almost reached her ankles even as she sat down. Her eyes half-shut, the tiniest hint of blue peeked out as she swayed ever-so-slightly to her song, the lightest of smiles on her face.

The group couldn't move; couldn't even blink as they continued to watch her every motion, her voice touching their heart and soul. It wasn't until her song finished that the spell wore off. The crowed erupted; it was a sight to behold. There were tears of love in every girl's eyes and most of the guys' as well; the few men who weren't openly crying were hugging their girlfriends (and in some cases, wives) tightly, holding back the tears with all of their might. But every person in the room was cheering and applauding. People had stopped playing games to move over to the diner. All of the girls in the room were crowding around her, but the men were keeping it seemed a certain distance away from her, save one.

"Another beautiful song," The blond man behind the counter, leaning beside her praised, wiping the tears out of his eyes, "Usagi-chan, you're definitely something else. Even the goddesses above can't compare!"

"Thanks, Motoki-nii," Usagi gasped amidst the hugs she was receiving, "I love singing here; it always makes me feel better, no matter how I'm feeling beforehand."

"And I always love it when you _do _sing here. In fact-ah. Hey, guys! You came at a great time! Come over here!" Usagi turned to see where Motoki was looking, and gave a small gasp as the four people made their way over to the counter. "Did you like the performance? She always draws everyone over here!"

"Mamoru was entranced, "Motoki, who is this girl? She seems so familiar..."

"Ah, everyone, this is Usagi-chan. She's pretty much like a little sister to- ah, Mamoru, I wouldn't get try to- too late."

Before Motoki could finish, Mamoru had taken Usagi's hands in his. "A pleasure to meet you, my goddess. I'm sorry if I seem to forward, but your voice and beauty touched my heart!"

"Um... I don't think you should- ah, too late."

This time, someone had taken Mamoru's hands. Off of Usagi's. At the same time, they had lifted him off of the ground. Now, Mamoru was a strong, bold man. But a better man than him would have cowered in fear as he was lifted several feet off of the ground by some rather hardcore... gentlemen, and promptly dragged towards the door.

The other three girls were speechless. "Uh, what just happened..?" Makoto finally managed to voice.

Motoki sighed. "You guys probably didn't know this, but Usagi comes here about once a week. And as you can see, she's..."

At this point, Motoki covered Usagi's ears with his hands. Usagi, used to such actions from him and her sisters, didn't resist and instead began to eat a float that a (rather seductive looking) girl bought for her. "Well, as you can see, she's so damn pretty and talented, ninety-five percent of the people in here would (and a few have tried to) kill their parents to have a chance with her. In fact, many a fist fight have broken out over stuff like who would get to even come near her."(At this point, he uncovered her ears, she didn't notice) It's gotten to the point where men are banned from coming a within a certain radius of her; let alone touch her. Mamoru was just lucky that _those _two weren't here when he tried that just now..."

"But girls are still allowed to?" Makoto asked, watching as a particular leaned against Usagi (but still kept her hands to herself, wary of the other girls glaring at her).

Motoki shrugged, "She doesn't associate with people outside her family very often, so she takes these chances to make new friends."

"Still," Rei said as she watched Mamoru struggle in vain as he was lifted onwards to the door, "We can't just let him get massacred!"

"Um..."

The entire arcade fell silent at the sound of Usagi's voice, the three men carrying away Mamoru stopping to turn towards her as well (a certain girl moving _far_ away from Usagi under the men's critical eyes).

"I think this girl here would be troubled if you beat up her older brother," She said, pointing to Rei, "Could you please let him off just this once?"

After a nod the men dropped Mamoru unceremoniously on the floor, and, with another nod towards Usagi, went back to their spots in the diner.

"Thank you!" Usagi called after them, then turned to the three girls (after finishing the float), "Sorry about that. But, I'm glad to see that you made it here safely. Couldn't wait to talk, huh?"

That's when Rei finally realized it, "It's you! The girl from last night!"

Minako was shocked. Makoto, however, was slightly amused.

"Well, so much for Mamoru-san getting past his 'misunderstanding'."

* * *

><p>AN: And, thus, we bring a conclusion to the first true chapter of Duty of the Heart~

As you can see, being raised under different circumstances and with different people definitely changes how a person looks at things. This is especially apparent in how Ami, a girl who wants to be a doctor to save lives, makes it clear that she has no real hesitation when it comes to killing a human (let alone a Senshi) in order to keep Usagi safe. And when we couple that with a responsibility as an older sister... Well, it's safe to say that Ami has certainly stepped up to the Protector role with flying colors. And possibly streamers.

At any rate, here we now see how Ami, Hotaru, and Usagi have turned out, over eleven years later. The three are a tight-knit group, and Ami seems to have gained some of Hotaru's distrust of people, while Usagi seems to have regained a bit of innocence due to growing up in a proper home. But is everything really how it initially appears? After all, Hotaru and Ami seem to be hiding something huge from Usagi...

Tell me what you think! As always, I love to hear from you readers! And one more thing: Points to whoever can figure out what song Usagi was singing!

Until next time!


	5. People, Places, Darkness, Revelations

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

* * *

><p>"So, is there somewhere we can talk in private?" In the dining are of Crown, Minako, Makoto, and Rei stood next the counter a small distance away from Usagi, while Mamoru sat at a table not too far away.<p>

"Right here will be fine." Usagi giggled at the confused looks on the girls' faces before she turned to Motoki, "Motoki-nii, these are the girls we were talking about. Can we clear the store?"

Motoki's face lit in surprise, "They are? Ah, first things first." Stepping out from behind the counter, he whistled and got everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, it's a little earlier than usual, but you guys know the drill. Take it easy, and stay out of trouble tonight."

Just like that, everyone else began to leave immediately, until only Minako's group, Usagi, and Motoki remained.

"What just happened here?" Minako asked, "Did you just kick everyone out?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Motoki replied, now making floats in the back, "It seems that you hadn't noticed before, but every so often, I'll close down earlier than usual, although not this early. During that time, the store's open just for Usagi and her family. But still, I'm surprised that you all are really the Sailor Senshi that we've been hearing about."

The three gasped, "How did you find out about us!"

"We told him." Usagi's simple statement surprised them, the three suddenly turning to her, "Motoki-nii has known about us since the very beginning. He also lets us use Crown whenever we need to, as well as support us as much as he can. And to that matter, We've known your identities for ages. But still, sit down everyone, I'm sure you don't want to stand up the entire time, right?"

The others agreed, and sat down at a table right next to Usagi, except for Rei. Instead of sitting at the table, she instead moved to sit at the counter with Usagi.

"Is it okay if I sit next to you?" She asked Usagi in a soft, kind voice. Usagi studied her for a moment, then nodded, smiling softly.

"Here you go, Usagi-chan! Here, there's floats for all of you as well." Motoki stated as he handed Usagi another float.

"Thank you!" Minako replied after taking one, "So, should we all properly introduce ourselves?"

_Ah, the tentative approach, _Usagi noted to herself, _Well, after what happened last night, it's not surprising that they're tip-toeing around me..._ "If you don't mind, I would like to wait-ah, here she is."

The air in the room shimmered and distorted slightly, and in a burst of light, Sailor Mercury appeared by Usagi's side, The other girls jumping to their feet as she materialized.

"..." '_Is everything okay, 'Sagi-chan? Have they tried to do anything to you?'_ She asked mentally, her eyes narrowed as her gaze swept past the others.

Usagi thought back to what Mamoru had done earlier, then shook her head, "We were waiting patiently for you. Would you like a float as well?"

Unfortunately for Usagi, Mercury heard her unspoken thoughts. Her eyes burning brightly, she spun around and made to move towards Mamoru, when a soft hand grabbed her's.

"He meant no harm... probably." Mercury looked at the pleading eyes of Usagi for a moment, then sighed and relented.

"If you say so, I'll let it go... _Once. _'Sagi-chan, hold still."

Obeying, Usagi held still as Mercury pushed her forehead against her's.

"Hmm... It's a little lower than where I'd like it to be around. 'Sagi-chan, have you slept at all today?

"I slept for a couple of hours before I came over here."

"Hmm..." Mercury stared Usagi in the eyes, then glared at her, "You were singing again, weren't you?"

"Ah." Usagi couldn't look her straight in the eyes, "...A little. Less than last time, though."

"Motoki-nii, please make a full meal for 'Sagi-chan and I. The usual should be fine."

Motoki laughed as Usagi silently protested, "Ah, the usual, huh? No problem, it'll be out in about twenty minutes. Until then, you guys behave, 'okay?"

After watching him go back into the kitchen, Mercury turned to Usagi, "Have you all been introduced yet?"

"Not yet, we were waiting for you to get here. Want some?"

Taking the float Usagi offered, Mercury powered down, then turned to the others, "I'm sorry for the late arrival. It's nice to meet most of you."

Makoto gasped, "Mizuno-san!"

"Mako-chan, you know her?" Minako asked, surprised.

"Yes, the two of us were in the same class before she transferred out. I had no idea that she was a Senshi as well, though."

Ami nodded, "Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Ami Mizuno, also known as Sailor Mercury, the Senshi of Water and apprentice Guardian of Time and Space."

"And I am Usagi Mizuno. I am a support specialist and a Time and Space Guardian junior apprentice. It is a pleasure to formally meet you."

It's nice to meet you Ami-san, Usagi-san. I am Minako Aino, also know as Sailor Venus, the Senshi of Love and Beauty. And these are my comrades, Makoto Kino, Rei Hino, and Mamoru Chiba."

Makoto nodded, "Nice to meet you, Usagi-san! I'm Makoto, also known as Sailor Jupiter, the Senshi of Thunder. Like I said earlier, Ami-san and I are old classmates."

"Nice to meet the both of you," Rei said, standing up, "I'm Rei, the Senshi of Fire, Sailor Mars. As you noticed, I have a bit of psychic ability."

Now, Mamoru stood up, "I am Mamoru Chiba, also known as Tuxedo Kamen. It's a pleasure to meet you." As he made to move forward, Usagi recoiled and immediately Ami was in front of her, eyes blazing, "Don't come any closer."

Mamoru frowned, but sat back down, "Why am I the only one who is being treated like this?"

"Because it's obvious that she's nervous around you," Rei said, giving him a small frown back, "Please, don't worry about him, we won't let him do anything to you."

"Thank you," Usagi replied as Ami sat back down, "but aren't you going to introduce your little friend as well?"

The four were confused, "Little friend?"

"Usagi giggled, "The one that's hiding in Minako-san's school bag."

At this, there was a gasp as the 'Little friend' jumped out of said bag and onto the table. "Artemis!"

The cat turned to stare hard at Usagi, "How did you know that I was in the bag? Even the others didn't know."

"Just a hunch." Usagi replied with a shrug.

"Speaking of which," Minako said as Artemis continued to stare at Usagi (to Ami's growing dislike), "Usagi-san, are you a Senshi as well? At this point, it seems that there's a lot that we don't know."

Usagi shook her head, "I'm-"

"And the food's done!" She was cut short as Motoki came back, loaded down with plates of food, most of which was vegetables; all of which were very healthy delicacies.

Usagi groaned, but Ami handed her a fork and knife, "Eat. I'll eat a bit of it as well."

Turning to Minako as Usagi (begrudgingly) started on the food, Ami continued, "Usagi is not a Senshi, however, she _is _a citizen of the Moon Kingdom. Like us, she was reincarnated on Earth, however, she was given a different mission and duty than us Senshi by the former Queen Serenity."

"What mission were you given, Usagi-san?" Rei asked, but Usagi shook her head and didn't reply.

"A special mission..?" Artemis continued to stare at Usagi, but now a spark of realization came to his eyes, "Ah! I understand now!"

"You know what her mission is?" Minako asked, excitedly. However, Artemis, like Usagi, shook his head.

"I can't say. She probably has orders not to speak about it, either. It's probably best to avoid that subject at all."

"Alright then," Rei agreed, "Well then, can you tell us a little about yourselves? How old you are and what schools you attend, for example."

Usagi nodded, "That's fine. I am currently fifteen years old, and I do not attend school. However, Ami-nee attends Al Riviera Academy, along with Ho-chan."

"Riviera? That super prestigious school where you have to have perfect grades and lots of money just to be considered!" Makoto was beyond shocked, "Ami-san, you transferred to that school!"

"Ami shook her head, "I've always attended Riviera. However, at the beginning of the year, I attended Juban High for a couple of months. I was charged with dealing with the youma that had infiltrated the school at the time."

"I never even noticed there was a youma at the school," Makoto gasped, "How long did it take you to get rid of it?"

"The first day." Ami replied simply, which astounded everyone except Usagi and Motoki.

"Wait, the first say of school! Then why did you stay for another month?"

Usagi laughed as Ami's face colored brilliantly, "Because she got to stay at Puu's house with me and Ho-chan while she was attending Juban, so she didn't say anything about killing the youma."

The others began to laugh as well, the tension in the room gradually letting up. As Minako laughed, however, she couldn't help but think that there was something about Usagi that was extremely familiar; as if she should know her better than anyone else. And it was hurting her on the inside that she couldn't figure out what it was.

"The both of you have the same family name," Mamoru noted, "Are you sisters? The two of you don't resemble each other."

The air in the room dropped in temperature for a moment as Ami's eyes narrowed once again. Usagi, however, didn't pay it any mind.

" I was adopted by the Mizuno family when I was four. Since then, Mama and Puu have had joint custody of me, while Puu has full custody of Ho-chan. In fact, -ah."

She went silent as a look from Ami made her pick back up her fork and return to eating.

"Who is 'Puu' and 'Ho-chan'?" Rei asked, watching Usagi slowly eat her food.

Ami sighed, "'Puu' is 'Sagi-chan's nickname for her Guardian and my aunt, Sailor Pluto. 'Ho-chan' is Hotaru, our sister, although you know her as Sailor Saturn."

Now that nagging feeling that Minako had was pulling at her even harder. "Usagi-san, what about you? You said that you don't attend school. What did you mean?"

Usagi shook her head, then took a minute to swallow her food, "Ho-chan and I already graduated from Tokyo University."

"...EH!" That floored everyone except Ami and Motoki. "What-how-when—EH!"

Usagi laughed at their response, "Puu home-schooled Ho-chan and I. We never attended school normally, but her classes were much harder and broader. I currently have degrees in Art, Astronomy, Literature, and Language Arts."

"Are you serious..?" Rei asked, getting back to her feet, "That's just too much to believe!"

"Look at any of the paintings in here." Now, Crown was a very modern game center, but it also had many, MANY paintings hung all around. They were all variously themed, and yet held the same feeling.

Rei walked over to a particular one that caught her eye. "Check the back." Following Usagi's instructions, she flipped over the painting and noticed, a small cursive name and read it out loud.

"Mizusa."

"'Mizusa'?" Minako was confused, but Makoto caught on at once.

"I see. Mizuno Usagi. Nice! Are these the only ones you've painted?"

"No, a lot of them were sold to various people and museums."

"How much were they sold for?" Rei asked curiously.

"Um, I think the last couple I painted sold for about 4 million each. I'm not sure, because Puu usually handles that kind of stuff."

They could only stare in awe at them, the two girls who had more money than all of their families put together.

"But wait," Makoto thought suddenly, "Why do you still attend an academy, Ami-san? Were you not home-schooled as well?"

Ami blushed again, and turned her attention to the food. Usagi answered for her, "Right now, Ami-nee is taking university classes at the academy, and is an intern at Mizuno Hospital. Her main area of focus requires her to actually attend classes. But, enough of that. I'm sure that there are more pressing things that you want to ask, is there not?"

The three girls and Mamoru looked at each other and nodded, Minako taking point, "We would like to work together with you. Right now, we don't have many leads to find our princess. At the same time, the youma are getting stronger really quickly. It's taking all we have just to hold them at bay. Together, however, we can be more than a match for the youma, as well as be able to relay information to each other that we might need. Together, I believe that we can do it!"

Ami gave Usagi a sidelong glance, telling her not to interfere as she turned back to Minako. "As we told you last night, although we are Senshi, our goals are not the same, even if I am also an Inner Senshi. To put it simply, we already have someone that we are sworn to protect, and that is our absolute top priority. For that reason we were awakened, and for that reason we have been in training for over ten years. And if we have to eliminate every youma in the galaxy to protect her, we will. No matter what."

Minako jumped to her feet, "Are you trying to say that protecting that person is more important than looking for our princess! That's insane! And you call yourselves Senshi!"

The words struck Usagi like a hot knife. It was exactly what she herself had thought, but to hear someone else belittle her sisters, and add to it the fact that it was her fault...

"Do not confuse yourselves, Aino-san," Ami replied coolly, "While you have your duties, we also have ours. Your foolishly jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts shows your inexperience and shortcomings as a leader. And it is precisely this reason that we see no reason to lend you our aid. You're just too immature."

"WHAT! HOW DARE YOU-OWW!" Moving forward angrily, Minako jumped back in pain as Artemis sunk his teeth into her leg.

"Cut it out! Right now, you're proving everything that Ami-san said to be completely true."

"But Artemis!" Minako argued, "Did you just hear her! She just stated that she had no intention of ever looking for the princess, or that she's even loyal to-OWW!"

"You idiot, that's what Ami was talking about! You're jumping to conclusions without knowing the whole story, or even a large part of it! A true leader makes decisions only after learning as much as they possibly can, and assessing the situation!"

"Artemis," Now Makoto joined the conversation, "You sound like you know something that we don't. Can you let us in on it? We can't understand what we don't know. What could possibly be more important than looking for and protecting the princess?"

Artemis sighed, "Sailor Pluto wouldn't awaken the most powerful Senshi of all as well as one of the Princess's guardians for a trivial reason. And Saturn was always the Senshi who was the most loyal and protective of the princess, except perhaps for Mars. There is no way that the both of them would simply abandon their mission of protecting our beloved princess unless it was absolutely necessary. In other words, it means that their mission is so important that it takes priority over everything other duty that they may have. And from the looks of it, it seems that Pluto made a damn good choice of picking Mercury and Saturn to do protect her."

"...Okay, you're right," Minako said, sitting back down, "Now that I think calmly about it, I can understand what you mean. I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions like that without knowing your situations."

"Why are you apologizing? Everything you said is true, after all."

Surprised, everyone turned to stare at Usagi, and Ami gasped. For as long as they had been family, she had never seen the look that Usagi was displaying on her face right now.

"See? It's just like I've told you, and now the other Senshi just said the same thing! There's no reason to stay by my side! I'm worthless! I'm not a Senshi, and I'm _NOT _worth protecting! There is no point in protecting me when you have a princess that you could be looking for! Do you understand? Stop protecting me! Stop caring about me! I'm fine by myself- I don't need anyone-"

SLAP.

You could hear a needle drop, it was so silent. Lowering her hand, Ami glared at her younger sister. "I finally understand now. The reason that you still act distant with me and mom sometimes."

Usagi's face began to pale, not daring to meet her elder sibling's eyes as she continued.

"All this time, I've tried to figure it out, and now it all comes together. I can't believe Ho-chan and I didn't realize it sooner."

"Ami-nee, it's not-"

"Shut up, Usagi."

Both Usagi and Motoki gasped. It was the first time Ami had ever used harsh words towards Usagi, even when they were children. It was a testament to how angry Ami was at the moment. The others were at a loss as for what to do. Rei and Makoto were watching Usagi with a worried expression, while Minako and Mamoru were listening intently, albeit for different reasons.

"You know," Ami said softly, "At first, I thought you didn't like living with us; I thought that we were doing something wrong, and that you couldn't make yourself comfortable. That would also explain why you always preferred to stay at Setsuna-san's so much. However, that isn't the reason at all, is it? Because the truth is, it doesn't matter to you which home you're in. And it's that same reason why you don't want us protecting you. It has nothing to do with duty, the princess, or anything else. In reality, you've never even considered yourself part of our family, have you?"

"What are you-"

"Shut up! It's true, isn't it? You've never thought of us as family, and you've never really trusted us, have you? It's been over eleven years, and besides Hotaru, you still don't trust anyone!"

"..." Usagi just sat there, her face hidden behind her long hair.

"Say something!"

"Ami, that's enough, you're goin-"

"Stay out of this, Motoki-nii!"

"...what..."

"Eh..?" Everyone fell silent again at the sound of the voice.

"...So what..?" Her voice was soft, but at the same time it was chilling, striking a sense of fear into everyone's hearts.

Ami could feel it. The power that was beginning to well up inside Usagi. "...'Sagi-chan..?"

"So what if I don't trust anybody? Only a fool would do such a thing." She now raised her face to stare straight at Ami. Her eyes were as cold as ice, her expression impassive. It was as if Ami was looking at a completely different person; one she had never met before.

And it scared her.

"Family? What good is family? They only betray you in the end. They use you as they see fit, and when they have no further use for you, they try to get rid of you themselves. HA! I'd rather be sealed away again than deal with people like them."

And it was that sentence that keyed Ami in to her suspicions. Raising her hand, a blade of ice manifested itself. "This is your only warning. Stop controlling her right now."

Usagi(?) began to laugh, "It took you long enough to realize it! But even so, what are you going to do? I know the truth about this girl, you wouldn't dare strike her down. But I must thank you, AMI. It was you who made it possible for me to take hold of her."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't get it? Your whole speech? It was completely off the mark. All it did was make this girl feel even worse, knowing that the one of the few people she loves has no faith in her. And a person in mental torment is the easiest to take over..."

Ami's eyes widened in realization as the words sunk in. She was completely wrong. That means that she had just shattered her sister's heart mercilessly, and her sister had done nothing to try to defend herself. Some sister Ami was.

"That doesn't matter. You will leave my sister this instant, of suffer the wrath of Mercury."

The false Usagi laughed all the harder, "Sister? Ha! Do you have the right to call this girl 'Sister'? After all, this girl is- AHH!"

Usagi's body fell forward, only to be caught in the arms of the Guardian of Time and Space herself. "It would seem that you all have had a very... taxing conversation."

Ami gasped, a look of relief on her face, "Sailor Pluto!"

Pluto nodded, "Usagi will be fine. She's just very low on energy right now. I've dealt with the youma as well. I would have arrived sooner, but there were some things that needed my attention."

The others were in awe of the Guardian in front of them, the Senshi that outranked everyone of them. As they collected themselves, Artemis moved forward.

"Pluto, it has been a long time! It's good to see that you are well, and as beautiful as ever."

Pluto laughed as she powered down, "Indeed, it has been a while, Artemis. I'm doing fine, as you can see. However, I never thought raising children would be a bigger task than dealing with youma!"

Artemis laughed as well, then became serious, "Setsuna-san, there's something I need to know. Is that girl..?"

Setsuna nodded, her face serious as well, "It is as you've surmised. However, for her sake, there are certain... aspects that she is unaware of, for her sake, as well as the sake of others."

"I understand." Artemis nodded. And then, to the surprise of the Inners, especially Minako, he moved over to Usagi and gently licked her on the cheek. "Poor girl. Out of everyone who was reborn, she's got the most difficult future out of all of us. I almost wish there was another path for her..."

The others could only look on. Artemis was always distant to everybody save Minako. Even then, he almost never showed his true feelings about something like he was right now. Even if the girl in question did look rather similar to Minako.

Similar to Minako..?

It was then that realization lit Minako's eyes. "No... no way...Usagi-chan..?"

Hearing her name brought Usagi back to her senses. "..? What...Puu..? Why are you...Ah. It happened again, didn't it?"

Helping Usagi back onto the chair she had been in, Setsuna smiled softly, "It's alright. It was dealt with quickly, as usual. Besides, I think Ami wants to say something to you."

Tensing up, Usagi turned to Ami, who, hugged her tightly, then pulled away.

"'Sagi-chan... I'm sorry for everything I said. But, you're acting distant again. Just like when you first came to our home. I love you more than you can imagine, but I need to know. Usagi... do you-"

Ami went silent as Usagi's finger touched her lips. "You, Mama, and Puu have been so kind to me. You're always by my side, you always show me how much you love me, and you've never pressured me to tell you about the past before we met. How could I not have fallen in love with all of you?"

Until now, her face radiated with the purest light, one that warmed the hearts of everyone in the room. Then, it turned much more serious. "You know, I remember a bit what happened a moment ago. Not all of what she said was a lie. What that youma said about family, that was how me and Ho-chan truly felt for the longest of time, even after we were adopted."

Ami began to say something, but stopped as Usagi kissed her softly on the cheek. "But that was years ago. I still don't trust people in general. The me from before will never go away. However, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that I love you, mama, Puu, and Motoki-nii just as much as I love Ho-chan. I trust you all with all of my heart, and I'm glad that you accepted me as your little sister."

And with those words, all of the worries and fears that Ami had melted away. Hugging her sister, she held back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

"But even so," Usagi continued, "That doesn't change how I feel about everyone protecting me. I'm not worth it."

"Usagi-san." Before Ami could reply, Artemis moved over to her, looking her straight in the eyes. "You need to believe in yourself. I understand your feelings about you and the princess. However, I want you to know just how important you are."

"How important I am..?"

"Yes. Believe me when I say that you are almost, if not just as important as the princess is. While you may not realize it, your duty is something that no one else in the universe is capable of doing. And by protecting you, your sisters are protecting the entire universe, as well as the princess. Besides, you were very special in your past life, as well."

Usagi looked Artemis straight in the eyes, looking for the slightest hint of any kind of lie. "Do you truly mean that?"

"I do." Artemis replied firmly, "It's just as your sisters and Setsuna-san have told you. You yourself know just how difficult your duty is. You also know the stakes of failure better than anyone. So, no more belittling yourself. Hold your head high, and be grateful for the people who willingly protect you, whether you want them to or not, okay? And just so you know, it was the queen herself who designated you for this particular duty, as well as who should be your protectors. Even now she is looking out for both you and the princess."

That was the closure that Usagi needed. Embracing the cat, a small tear fell from her eyes. "Thank you, Artemis. Thank you..."

"Ah," Usagi broke away suddenly, a thought crossing her mind, "By the way...who called me earlier? Huh, what's wrong, Minako-san?"

For quite a while, Minako looked as if she had seen a ghost. Moving slowly, she walked over and pulled Usagi's hand to her cheek. Leaning in slightly, Minako sighed softly as Usagi subconsciously stroked her face.

"It's okay now, Mina-chan," Usagi cooed softly, a warm look on her face. Then, in lightning speed, that look turned to a look of absolute horror and fear. "Oh crap."

"I thought so." Letting go of Usagi's hand, Minako grabbed Usagi's hair, which was flowing freely and began to restyle it. Stepping back, she looked at her now twin-tailed counterpart. "I finally found you. I've been searching for you for eleven years...Usagi Tsukino."

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><p>AN: And there we go! This chapter answers a few questions, and raises several more, especially about Usagi and Minako's past. I'm sure that the more...advent BSSM fans might have an idea where that might be going, but then, even I'm not always positive where it's going, so...

At any rate, we now start to see the what the relationship between Usagi and Ami is like, as well as some of the darker thoughts that may still reside in Usagi's subconscious and Ami's inner feelings. We are also beginning to see how some of the other Senshi, such as Rei, react to Usagi's mere presence.

As always, I wanna know what you think! Tell me where you think the story's going, what you think so far, your impressions of the characters, whatever you feel! And if you want to have a deep conversation about something, PM me. I'll always respond.

Until next time!


	6. Emotions Crossing Through Time

A/N: Definition of Fanfic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

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><p>~A time ago, Juban, Tokyo~<p>

"_Mama, where are we going?" The lovely blonde child asked her mother as their car moved along the moonlit road at a very high speed. The woman driving glanced at her daughter before looking back at the road._

"_We're going to go get your Aunt Ikuko and your cousin. They're going to stay with us for a while."_

"_Mm." The small girl had heard that she had a younger cousin, but had never met her or her aunt. Still, she was eager to have a new friend to play with. But... "Mama, why are you mad?" Children by nature are much more perceptive of emotions than adults, and the four year old in the passenger seat was no exception to this._

_Taking a moment to gather herself, the mother replied, "Because I'm not happy with your Uncle right now. He's been doing bad things. Ah, here's the street. And the house is...!"_

_The car jerked to a stop as the mother let loose a string of words that she would later ground her child for repeating. Jumping out of the car, she looked back to her daughter in the back seat. "Stay here and do not get out of the car."_

_Nodding, the child looked towards the house that her mother was walking towards. Even a child could see that something was wrong. The windows were smashed, and the door was ajar. Lights were on all over the house, and loud yelling could be heard, along with the sound of things being thrown. The child watched as her mother kicked in the front door and walked in. After a moment, her voice could be heard from outside the building, along with more words that would result in punishment for the little girl repeating. After a long moment a woman the girl didn't know exited the building, carrying a bundle of red sheets in her hands. Following closely behind was the girl's mother, carrying a nice sized baseball bat. Now, the girl's mother was well known for her short temper, despite being a famous magazine model. And right now, her temper was on full display as a angry and bloody man came crashing out of the house after them, only to jump back in fear as the bat sped past the spot where his head was an instant ago._

"_Don't you dare come anywhere NEAR us or so help me god I'll smash every bone in your pathetic body!" Without waiting for a reply the mother ushered the woman in front of her into the car. With a last glare at the man, the woman backed out and sped off, the child knowing better than to say anything when her mother was in the state she was in._

"_Ikuko, we're going to the hospital."_

"_No. We can call for a private doctor."_

"_Ikuko! Your daughter needs medical attention as soon as-"_

"_NO! I will not be further embarrassed because of this-this THING!" With a yell, she threw the bundle she was holding into the backseat. And at that same moment, she cried out in pain as her sister's palm connected with her face._

"_I have never been more ashamed to be your sister, Ikuko. You were blessed with a beautiful child, but all you have done is blame the child for your failing relationship. If it wasn't for our mother telling to always look out for you, I'd have that child taken away from you and leave you where ever you want to be. Now, call the doctor and tell them to meet us at my house. NOW."_

_Ikuko didn't dare dispute her sister and made haste to call the doctor. Just as the pulled in to the home, the doctor pulled up as well._

_The child got out of the car just as the two women did likewise. The doctor was obviously not pleased as she approached the two sisters, "Tsukino-san. I do believe that I made it clear last time that if your daughter needed emergency medical attention again, that I would be filing a police report as well as a doctor's report?"_

_Ikuko moved forward to speak but the doctor held up her hand to stop her, "I don't care for the excuse. Take her into an open room. I'll follow along with my equipment."_

_In the home, Ikuko tossed the bundle of sheets onto the bed, and then left the room with a huff. Ignoring her, the doctor walked into the room to where the woman and child were. "Are you two related to the Tsukino family?"_

_The woman nodded, "I am Miyako Aino, Ikuko's sister. This is my daughter, Minako."_

"_I see. Aino-san, it's fine if you stay in here, but this isn't something a child should see."_

_Miyako nodded and turned to her daughter, "Minako-chan, go into your room and get ready for bed. I'll be in there in a minute." After a moment, Minako nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Almost. Instead, she left it just open enough for her to peak through the crack and see into the room._

"_Alright, here we go..." Picking up the bundle of sheets on the bed, the doctor began unwrapping them until it revealed a child, a girl smaller than Minako. Her golden hair was matted with red, bruises all over her body. Minako had to hold her hand to her mouth to keep herself from gasping. The girl was badly injured._

"_All of these injuries..." Miyako gasped as she gazed at the unconscious girl. The doctor nodded._

"_These injuries aren't nearly as bad as some of the one's I've treated her for before..! Dammit! That son of a..! Quickly, get me a damp towel!"_

_Moving over to the sink in the room, Miyako came back with a damp towel, "What's wr- oh my god! That bastard, he- he ra-!"_

"_Calm down, Aino-san, lest you- Ah. Too late."_

_Miyako's eyes widened as slowly, the girl on the bed sat up, rubbing her eyes. However, upon seeing Miyako, the girl immediately gasped in shock, jumping out of the bed with great speed, moving towards the window, never talking her narrowed eyes off of the woman. "...Who are you?"_

_Even in the situation that she was in, Miyako couldn't help but let out a wistful sigh as she looked at her niece. Even when she was covered in blood and injuries, the child was utterly and almost unearthly beautiful. However, Miyako had more than enough self control to keep her head on her shoulders. Especially with the look on the child's face._

_Miyako could see it in her eyes. A look that she knew firsthand. That look of absolute hatred; a fire that no child's eyes should possess. A look that threatened bodily pain to anyone who came near her. A look of desperation that was searching for any kind of escape route._

_Now, Miyako herself was a very pretty woman, and as such, had had her own run-ins with unsavory people. However, it wasn't until after she gave birth to her daughter Minako that she found out exactly how horrible people could be. And it was due to one simple fact._

_Minako was just as beautiful as Ikuko's daughter._

_The child was only four, and there had been multiple kidnapping attempts, and even more...coercion... attempts. All of them had failed, due in part the high class area where they lived, and also the weaponry that Miyako always carried on her persona. But most importantly, Miyako was a smart woman. She rarely let her daughter out of her sight._

_And thanks to comforting her daughter after every situation that she was able to understand some of what her niece was feeling._

_With a smile on her face, Miyako took a step to her side, near the bed, "Nice to meet you. I'm Miyako Aino, your mother Ikuko's sister."_

_Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say. Instead of relaxing, the girl's eyes widened, then narrowed at the sound of her mother's name, the child edging ever closer to the window. "Stay away."_

_The two women could see that the girl was barely standing. She was in no condition to be out of the bad, let alone on her feet. From the doorway, Minako's eyes widened as she saw blood dripping from the girl's thighs. She had no idea what it meant, but she knew that it must be very, very painful._

_The doctor slowly stepped forward, "It's all right, little one. Do you remember me? I'm Sayu, the get well lady. Don't worry; no one here is going to hurt you, I promise. But we need you to come back to the bed so we can make you feel better, okay?"_

_After a moment, the child's eyes lit with recognition, and she slowly relaxed. However, her narrowed eyes never left Miyako as she moved back to sit on the bed._

"_Good girl," Sayu said as she moved over to the child, then, in a much gentler voice, "I'm going to wipe off your body now. It will hurt too much to take a bath..."_

"_I can do it, Sayu-sensei. I'm used to it." Taking the towel from Sayu, the child began to wipe the blood and grime off of herself. It was heart-wrenching to witness. And when she wiped off her thighs, both Miyako and her daughter's hearts broke as the child winced in pain._

_When she was done, Sayu treated and bandaged her wounds and Miyako gave her a set of clothing to wear. Taking the clothes, the child looked at Miyako. "...Where...is mama?"_

_Miyako's face wilted for the briefest of moments as her thoughts turned towards her sister, but then it went back to her kind, gentle expression. "Your mother isn't feeling well, so she is in the room downstairs resting. Do you want me to go get her?"_

"_...No, it's okay." The child shook her head. Secretly, Miyako was relieved. She really didn't want to talk to Ikuko at the moment. The child then looked at the two adults in a more relaxed manner; one that was said that she was willing to talk to them. Seeing this, Sayu spoke up._

"_I know that you're tired, but I have to ask you. As usual, if you were told not to tell anyone, just don't say anything. But if the answer is no, just shake your head, okay?"_

_A nod. "Alright then, here we go. First off, are your wounds feeling at least a little better since I put the medicine on them?"_

_*Nod*_

"_That's good to hear. Have either of your parents been giving you medicines recently?"_

"_..."_

"_I see. Have you met any new friends lately? Have your parents brought any strange people to see you since last time? People that you feel uncomfortable around?"_

_*Shake*_

"_That's good. Now, last question...was your father the one who hurt you?"_

_All eyes were on the small child, who remained silent for the longest time, staring at the sheets on the bed until at last she looked up at Sayu, not meeting her eyes._

_*Shake*_

_Sayu studied the child for a long moment. "I see. Well, at any rate, you need to get some rest, and it's already late. Are you ready to go to bed?"_

"_Hungry." Minako noticed that the girl had stopped glaring at her mom, apparently deciding that she wasn't a bad person._

"_Then, I'll make you something light to eat, that way it doesn't upset your stomach, okay?" Miyako smiled kindly at the child. It was a genuine smile that held no malice or hidden intentions, and to everyone's surprise, that smile was mirrored by the child, her eyes lit with just a touch of the happiness that until now had been completely missing from them._

"_Thank you."_

_With a slight blush on her face, Miyako smiled back, and headed towards the door along with Sayu. Minako managed to hide in the bathroom just as Miyako and Sayu exited the room and descended the stairs. Quietly, she moved back over to the door and slowly opened it. Then, for the rest of her life, she would swear to herself that she saw a little goddess._

_There, in the pitch black room, illuminated by the softest of moonlight, a small child stood by the window, her twin-tailed hair as silver as the moon itself, falling to her ankles as she gazed out of the window, a forlorn expression on her face as her tiny hand rested gently on the glass. Her voice was like a crystal bell; beautiful yet sad as she spoke out softly to the night sky._

"_Goddess Selene, Mother, please watch over and guide us...this pain...all of this...It's too much...it is not something that anyone should experience, let alone a child..."_

_Tears came to Minako's eyes; she had no idea why she was crying, or even what the other girl was talking about, but something pulled at her heartstrings. Unable to help herself, she began to cry, falling to her knees as she wept in her hands._

_Suddenly, she felt a warm touch on her cheek. As she look up, she saw eyes purest of blue as she was embraced. For a split-second, she thought she saw silver hair, but the moment she blinked, the silver was replaced by golden blonde and she realized she was being hugged by the blonde girl that she had been watching for most of the night._

"_It's okay now, Mina-chan..." The child whispered as she stroked Minako's face gently, and Minako leaned in to the touch._

_Fifteen minutes later, Miyako returned to find Minako fast asleep, lying on the legs of the younger child, who was equally asleep, leaning against the bed-frame. Smiling to herself, she picked up her daughter and lay her on the bed near the window. Inwardly, she thanked the gods that she had kept Minako's old bed when she bought her a new one. After tucking her in, Miyako then went over to her sister's child and gently picked her up, as not to aggravate any of her wounds, and gasped._

"_Ah, It seems that you noticed."_

_Spinning towards the door, Miyako looked at Sayu in disbelief, "How...how is this possible..? This girl, she's..!"_

_Sayu nodded, taking the child from the stunned woman's hands. Moving over to the vacant bed, she tucked the child in, gently brushing the hair out of her face. Then, motioning to Miyako, Sayu left the room, closely followed by Miyako._

_As soon as they were in the living room, Miyako began. "Sayu-san, what in the world is going on! How do you explain this? The child's wounds- they're almost completely healed already!"_

_It was true. The moment Miyako had picked the child up, she had saw it. Although still present, all of the cuts, bruises, and injuries that were on the child's body had faded away, barely visible anymore._

_Sayu nodded once again. "That's right. It happens every time. No matter how badly she's injured, at least for external injuries, within a few days, the wounds are almost always completely healed, to the point where any scar or mark completely vanishes. However, it seems that this healing ability doesn't apply to internal injuries for some reason. Needless to say, this is not the first time I've come to address her injuries. I am, however, the only one outside her family that is aware of her condition. A condition that may be more of a curse than a blessing..."_

"_A curse?" Miyako cried in disbelief, "How can such a blessing from God be a curse?"_

"_Haven't you seen the way her mother treats her? In her opinion, the child is a monster. A monster in an angel's guise."_

_'I will not be further embarrassed because of this-this THING!' Her sister's words rang in her head, the look of absolute hatred on her face stuck in her mind. "A monster..."_

"_That's right."_

_Both Miyako and Sayu turned to the entrance of the living room to see Ikuko glaring at her sister with the same look she had earlier. "That child is nothing but a monster. A monster that's caused nothing pain and suffering for my marriage. It disgusts me that I had to give birth to such a-!"_

_SLAP._

_She was silenced by both the hand AND the look on her elder sister's face. Miyako had never felt more hatred in all of her life than she did right now at this moment. To not only hate her child, but to blame her for her own failing marriage..._

"_If that's how you feel, then you don't have to worry. You won't be taking care of her anymore."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_What I'm saying is, that from now on, I will be taking care of her. You won't have to worry about her anymore. You're not fit to raise a child, anyway. I'm assuming you have no problem with relinquishing custody, right?"_

_It was as if you could see the gears in Ikuko's head spinning like clockwork as a dark grin appeared on her face. "None at all. You can have her. I'll fill out the paperwork by tomorrow. I'll see you later, Nee-san, I'm going to go celebrate!" With that she left, laughing almost hysterically the entire way out of the house, turning back only to send one last scathing glare at the top of the stairs before she slammed the door behind her._

_Following her look, Miyako gasped as she spotted the two blonde children, Minako holding the younger child as she cried into her pajama shirt. Racing up the stairs, Miyako scooped the girl up into her arms, rubbing her back as the girl cried her heart out, consoling her with gentle words._

_After a long while, the girl finally stopped crying. Looking at her, Miyako could see it. The child's spirit had broken; shattered into a million pieces. And as she gazed at the soulless look in her eyes, Miyako wasn't sure that she could fix it._

_Now, for a three year old, the child was very intelligent for her age. She knew very well that her mother thought she was a monster, and that she hated her; as well as knew what it meant to hand over custody of her. It meant that her mother didn't want her anymore, and that she was giving her away. And while so far Miyako had shown much more love and compassion towards her than Ikuko ever had, the child couldn't just abandon the feelings of love that she had for her mother. At least, not right away._

"_Aino-san." The child waited until Miyako set her down before she spoke, "Can I sleep somewhere alone tonight? I wanna be by myself." The child's voice was dead. There was no sense of emotion in it whatsoever. And it hurt Miyako._

"_Listen, sweetie, your mother isn't-"_

"_It's alright." Miyako stopped as the child shook her head, "I already know. It's not mamma's fault I'm a monster. If I were normal, then maybe mamma would love me. Night night."_

_Moving past the mother and child, she walked over to the bedroom she had awoken in._

"_Wait!" The child stopped as Minako grabbed her hand. "I don't know your name!"_

_The child looked at Minako for a long moment. She was surprised at how Minako could ignore everything that had just happened and be upset at something as simple as a forgotten introduction._

"_It's gonna change after tomorrow, but right now it's Usagi. Usagi Tsukino."_

_And true to her words, the next day Ikuko returned with all of the necessary paperwork to hand over custody of Usagi to Miyako, and by the morn of the following day, Usagi Tsukino was officially Usagi Aino, youngest daughter of Miyako Aino._

_...Of course, even if it was easy for the Ainos to accept Usagi, it wasn't so simple the other way around. In fact, the moment after Usagi became an Aino, she went silent._

_She utterly and completely refused to speak a single word to anyone, whether it was Miyako, Minako, Sayu, anybody. The girl wouldn't make a sound, even if she got pricked by a flower thorn, or accidentally hurt herself. Needless to say, this caused several incidents, the most prominent of which occurred around week ten of Usagi's 'Silent Saga'. Coincidentally, it was also the one that brought an end to said saga._

_It was almost dinner time and Miyako had been busy cooking all day. During which time, both Minako and Usagi had come and gone from the kitchen several times, Miyako not bothering to disturb them. As Miyako was putting the final touches on the meal, she noticed a red spot on the floor. Taking a closer look, she noticed a trail of said spots leading out of the kitchen and up the stairs. As she passed by Minako, who was asleep on the couch in the living room, she noticed the spots getting bigger and began to move more quickly, a sense of dread creeping into her heart. The trail led to the children's room, all the way over to Usagi's bed where the child in question was sitting silently, the white bedsheets completely soaked in blood, her left hand wrapped up in them._

_After treating her hand, Miyako pieced together what had happened from Usagi's nonverbal storytelling. Apparently, Usagi had brushed against her dresser, knocking over her mirror. When she went to clean it up, she did so with her hands, cutting herself very badly in the process. And to Miyako's absolute horror, when she asked how long ago this had occurred, Usagi held up six fingers. Six hours. Needless to say, Miyako was furious. At first, she was mad that Usagi had hurt herself that badly and not said a word, and then even madder that she had not gone to her for help. Grabbing the child's shoulders, she demanded to know why she hadn't come to her, why she never said anything; why she kept everything to herself. And after a long moment of silence, just as Miyako was walking out of the room, a voice caught her ear. It was tiny, but crystal clear._

"_Because nobody ever listened when I begged for help before." _

_And then, it hit Miyako. Of course. Of course she would never ask for help. She had gone all this time with abusive parents; it only makes sense that she would start to rely on herself and stop relying on other people. Taking Usagi's injured hand gently in her own, Miyako looked the child in the eyes, a gentle yet serious expression on her face. "Usagi-chan. I don't know everything that happened to you before, but here, in this house as my child, you can always come to me or Minako when you need help. We will never abandon you, we will never ignore you when you need us. You don't have to rely on yourself. Let us help you. That's what family is for."_

"_Family..." Usagi looked at the hand the was gently holding hers; she could feel the warmth of both the hand and the words. "We're...a family." And suddenly, she pulled into Miyako's arms as Minako hugged her from behind, having listened to the entire conversation ordeal from the door._

"_Yes," Miyako said, tears of happiness in her eyes, "The three of us are a family. And families are always there for each other, no matter what. Now come on, you two. Dinner is ready."_

_Smiling from head to toe, Minako reached out and grabbed Usagi's hand, but gasped in surprise as she was suddenly pushed away by the girl. "Usagi-chan?"_

_Also looking at her, Miyako noticed that the same hand that Minako grabbed was the one that had been injured. However, to her shock, she noticed that the wound had reopened when Minako grabbed it. Gently, she reached out and took hold of the injured hand. "The injury...it's not healing..?" Indeed, it was as if Usagi's strange healing factor was no longer present. "What happened to the healing power...?" It was a question she had spoken to herself. She hadn't expected Usagi to answer her.  
><em>

"_The Queen lady took it away."_

_Miyako looked at her questioningly, "What do you mean? 'The Queen lady took it away'?"_

_Usagi nodded, "She said I don't need it anymore."_

_Miyako was concerned about the fact that someone had approached and talked to Usagi without anyone's notice, but she ignored it for the moment, "Usagi-chan, why did she say you don't need it anymore?"_

_Getting off of the bed, Usagi took Minako's hand in her uninjured one and moved over to the door. "Because I'm safe now."_

_Since that day, the Aino family became closer to each other than ever. Minako and Usagi were especially close. Minako took her role as elder sister very seriously, acting much like a little bodyguard to her younger sibling. Subsequently, Usagi was the mature younger sister that had a soothing effect on everyone. It had become a manner of course to see Usagi comforting Minako with her signature 'It's okay now, Mina-chan' whenever Minako was upset about something. But even so, that didn't stop Miyako from paying extra attention to Usagi. Or, more specifically, the things that she said._

_For it seemed that with the disappearance of her healing ability, she had gained a new kind of ability; one that was in a way, much more scary._

_She gained the power of premonition. That in itself wasn't what was scary about it to Miyako. After all, the Aino family were descendents of star tellers, those that would predict the future by reading the stars. The scary thing was that it wasn't predictions that she gave._

_It was warnings._

_At first, they were minute things that Miyako paid no major mind to. But then Usagi forewarned something that she couldn't just take lightly. She forewarned a kidnapping._

_It happened three days later. Miyako had a commercial shoot for a new women's perfume, and as a;ways, she had brought Minako and Usagi along, for she felt more at ease with them with her rather than with a sitter. The shoot was not going well; despite herself, Miyako couldn't get Usagi's words out of her head and it was showing on her face. At last, the director called for a short break. After getting a drink of water, Miyako turned to the side area where the two children were sitting... to find that they weren't there. Dropping her water, she raced through the building, alerting every security guard in the process until they heard gunfire._

_Rushing to the source, the ran outside the building to find both children hiding behind a young man who was pointing a gun at another man on the floor, bleeding, from the leg. Everyone quickly recognized the bleeding man as the cameraman who had been hired just a few weeks prior. Upset that his cameraman was injured, the director confronted the gun-clad man only to be pinned to the ground and handcuffed. At the same time, several police officers suddenly appeared from all sides, grabbing the director and the cameraman._

_As it turned out, the gun-clad man was an undercover police officer who had been investigating a series of child kidnapping, and had suspected the director of the commercial shoot. However, up until then, he didn't have enough evidence to make an arrest. It was then, that Usagi had approached him and stated quite plainly that someone was going to kidnap her and her sister that day. As an officer that dealt with children, he knew to approach the situation seriously, even if he was slightly skeptical as to how she knew such a thing. As such, he kept an eye on both children through out the commercial shoot. And sure enough, the moment the two children went to the restroom, the director called for a break and the cameraman left the room with haste. Calling in for backup, the officer followed the man from the shadows and incapacitated him with a bullet to the leg before he could even get near his car with the two children._

_That was the last time that Miyako failed to heed Usagi's warnings. And it was two days after that incident that Usagi made her final warning, one that had Miyako on edge for many a month to come._

_'Soon will come a time when this child shall disappear from before you. But worry not, for the galaxy shall watch over her; eternal guardians. And when the guardian appears before you, you shall have no qualms with supplying them that which they desire. Although your heart shall contain chaos and darkness at the time, it will soon afterward change into sorrow and remorse. Yet take heart, for although many moons shall pass, you shall meet again, when the moon and stars shine brightly.'_

_As if it wasn't enough that she predicted that she would somehow disappear, the part that truly scared Miyako was that, unlike previous warnings, this time little Usagi had no memory of making the prediction whatsoever. And as Minako had not been in the room to hear it, Miyako was tempted to pretend it never happened. However, she knew that only a fool would do that, especially after what she had seen Usagi predict before. So, she settled to make sure that the lives of her children were as happy as could be._

_That happiness lasted three months._

_It was a rainy night. Miyako was in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes from the dinner that they had just finished. Suddenly, sound of screaming and breaking glass had her running towards the front of the house. When she arrived, her heart froze. Standing in the doorway, holding an unconscious Usagi was a man that Miyako knew very well. Kenji Tsukino. Usagi's father._

_Behind him, the door had been kicked open and was in splinters, while Minako was on the floor to his left, slumped against the wall, glaring at the man._

"_Don't move, Miyako." Miyako's eyes widened as a jet black gun was pointed straight at her. "Just stay where you are and we won't have any problems."_

"_What the hell do you think you're doing, Kenji!" Her glare was matched by his own as the arm that was holding Usagi tightened._

"_Isn't it obvious? I'm taking back what belongs to me. That bitch of a woman had no right giving away my property..."_

"_She's not your property! Let go of my daughter!"_

"_YOUR DAUGHTER! WHO THE HELL DO YOU-ARGH!"_

_The moment the man had made to move towards Miyako, Minako had sprang forward, latching on to his arm with her teeth. Glaring at the child, Kenji slung her into a wall, then turned back to Miyako._

_BANG._

_Miyako screamed as her mother fell to the floor, crying out in pain._

"_Let that teach you a lesson about taking what's mine. Now, let us go home, my dear sweet Usagi...my dear sweet doll."_

_Miyako was torn. Was she supposed to go after the man who took her sister, or stay and help her mom? Shaking her head, Miyako ran to the phone and quickly dialed 911. However, her mother wasn't having it. She had been shot in the leg, but from the pain she could tell that it had just missed the bone. Looking at her daughter, she could see her determination mirrored back at her. Dragging herself to her car, she and Miyako sped off, trying desperately to think of where the mad man would go._

_She had been driving for five minutes when it hit her._

_'Let us go home, my dear Usagi...'_

_Hitting a sharp U-turn, she accelerated hard, flying towards Usagi's old home._

_As soon as they rounded the corner to the home, they came to a sight that Miyako would remember for the rest of her life._

_Kenji, or what was left of him, was lying on the ground, blood seeping from his corpse. A distance away from him, surrounded by things Miyako could only describe as monstrous shadows, Usagi and another child were desperately trying to fight them off with sticks, but to no avail as they were thrown around mercilessly. Then, Miyako cringed as the two children were slammed into the side of the house._

"_USAGI-CHAN!"_

_The child didn't know what told her to do it, but something inside of Minako turned on. Something that swirled all around her, and came to one point. 'I can't let them hurt Usagi-chan.' And suddenly, she was angry. More angry than she had ever been in her life. And then, it was like her body was on auto-pilot, her body moving, fueled by raw emotion, her conscience taking a back seat._

_She ran forward, rushing at the shadows. Ignoring the screams from her mother, she leapt high into the air, much higher than a child should possibly be able to. Holding her hands out in front of her, she cried out. "ROLLING HEART VIBRATION!"_

_At that moment, a burst of energy shot forth, slamming into the ground in the shape of an enormous heart and slammed into the shadows that were surrounding Usagi and the other child, destroying several of them. "Don't you dare touch Usagi-chan!"_

_The shadows however, were not ones to be scared of a child. The moment she landed a black claw slashed her chest, sending her flying into the other two children. Catching her, Usagi's eyes widened in horror as she saw the blood flowing from Minako's chest, and the tears in her eyes._

"_I'm sorry, Usagi. I'm the big sister... I'm supposed to... protect..."_

_The moment Minako lost consciousness, it happened. With a scream, a burst of blinding white light erupted from Usagi, engulfing everything from the children and the shadows, to the house behind her. Miyako had shielded her eyes the moment the light erupted, but even after it faded it took a minute for her eyes to readjust, and when they did she was speechless._

_The shadows were gone. Gone, along with the house,Kenji's body, and everything in the vicinity of the burst of light. Except the children._

_As Usagi calmed down, she gasped as Minako slowly sat up. Her body was completely healed, not even the slash marks remaining. Hugging her elder sister tightly, Usagi cried into her hair, unable to contain herself. Tears also in her eyes, Minako hugged her back. "It's okay now, Usagi-chan. Everything's-!"_

_Suddenly, Minako was pulled away from the embrace into another, much stronger one. One that was emanating a dark aura. Looking up, Usagi's eyes were met by Miyako's, a dark, hateful, fearful look in them._

"_You... what in God's name are you..?You destroyed everything...YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU!"_

_Trapped in her mother's arms, Minako could see the shock and pain in Usagi's eyes._

"_But...mama, I-"_

"_STAY AWAY FROM ME AND MY DAUGHER, YOU MONSTER!"_

_The moment the words came out of her mouth, she regretted it. Both mother and child watched as the light faded from Usagi's eyes, crystal blue turning dull, almost gray as her head fell, her hair covering her face. Tears fell from Usagi's eyes, tears that hurt the very soul._

"_Usagi-chan, wait, I-!" Stepping forward, Miyako suddenly jumped back, falling to the ground as a knife sliced through the air exactly where her hand had been outstretched an instant ago._

"_Stay away from us." It was the other child, a girl with short black hair and deep eyes. Eyes that held hatred for the world. However, the hatred disappeared as she turned to her companion, placing a soft hand on her cheek. "See Usa-chan? I told you; she's the same as everybody else. No matter who, all they do is hurt us, or use us. We can only rely on each other. Remember what we promised?"_

_Usagi's shoulders shuddered. Wiping her eyes, she looked at her companion and nodded. Her face was wet, but her eyes were clear. There were no tears. She would cry no more._

"_That's right, Usa-chan. No more tears. We are on our own from now on. We can't cry for anyone anymore. Then, are you ready to go?"_

_Usagi nodded again, "Yes. Let's go, Ho-chan." Following her friend, the two children began to walk off as sirens began to be heard in the distance._

"_Usagi-chan!"_

_The girls turned back to see Minako running towards them. Usagi ran to meet her half-way. "Usagi-chan, I-" Minako fell silent as Usagi shook her head. Then, reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small box and put it into her hands._

"_...Happy birthday, Minako Aino."_

_Stepping away, Usagi's eyes turned to the woman she had until moments ago called mama. However, there were no emotions in the eyes that looked at the woman now. The feelings Usagi had for the woman were no more. They were a hazard. And they were better cast away. Nonetheless, Usagi wasn't rude by nature, and due to Miyako being famous and wealthy, both she and Minako had been brought up being taught manners and customs befitting their social rank. So ever-so-slightly, the twin-tailed girl curtsied, bowing her head slightly to the woman who had at the very least supplied her with more happiness than her first parents ever did._

"_Gokigenyou, Aino-san."_

_And with that, the two children disappeared into the night, their footsteps fading away as the sirens blared louder, police cars screeching to a stop, officers rushing onto the scene. Paramedics immediately grabbed Miyako and pulled her into the truck, an officer escorting young Minako to the hospital right behind them. As she got into the car, Minako couldn't help but to take one last look the night into which her sister disappeared._

_By the morning of the next day, the doctors concluded that Miyako would make a full recovery quickly, and that the bullet injury wouldn't leave a scar, to Miyako's relief. When the police came to question them as to what had happened, however, Miyako left out the part about Usagi's power, stating instead that an explosion occurred suddenly, causing the damage that took place. The police were strangely accepting of the story, and made no attempts whatsoever to try to dig for more information. Usagi was listed as a missing child; one to be apprehended and taken into protective custody on sight._

_Minako had also been cleared by the hospital to be in perfect health, however that was not the case entirely. Mentally, the girl was in turmoil. The moment she had returned to her home with her mother, she had began trying to find Usagi. Unfortunately, there was only so much that a four year old child could do, so everyday, she would sit in the hallway, dialing every number in the phone book that she could, asking anyone who answered if they knew anything about her missing sister._

_At first, Miyako allowed Minako her efforts, but eventually she told her child that it was no use, that Usagi had left on her own accord, and would come back when she felt she was ready to. However, Minako knew that her mother was lying; that she was hiding something about Usagi from her. The way that she had acted when Usagi kidnapped as well as the way she had been acting recently...Minako, as almost all children, were highly attuned to people's emotions and she could feel that something was not right with what her mother was telling her._

_It wasn't like that when they first got out of the hospital. In fact, at first Miyako was also doing everything she could to find Usagi. However, one day she completely changed, and no longer made any attempt to find the child she had called a daughter. At first, Minako thought she was feeling guilt for what she had called Usagi, but that idea quickly faded as she watched her mother begin to go about her days as if she had always had only one child. It wasn't until almost three months later that she found out the truth._

_She had awoken in the middle of the night, and was thirsty. Moving silently out of her room, she was halfway down the stairs when she stopped as she heard her mother's voice, unusually serious._

"_-all the papers are signed right here. I've relinquished all rights as Usagi's parent over to you. Just remember what you've promised."_

"_There's no need to worry. Well then, I'll be taking my leave."_

_The moment the door closed, Miyako was faced with an angry Minako, her expression darker than she'd ever seen._

"_Who was that?"_

"_Oh, that-that was just a frien-"_

"_Where is Usagi-chan?"_

"_Honey, what are you-"_

"_WHERE IS MY SISTER!"_

"_... She's gone. She's not your sister anymore." Miyako was getting tired of explaining to Minako, and had figured it was best to tell her straight, "She was adopted by someone just a moment ago."_

"_...You gave my sister away... I hate you... I HATE YOU!"_

_That would be the last thing that Minako would say to her mother for many, many years._

_Time passed. Minako's efforts to find her sister were met with failure after failure. It was as if all information about her had disappeared off of the face of the Earth. And yet, even as the years passed, she would never truly give up her efforts. Her relationship with her mother was almost nonexistent. For all intents and purposes, Minako pretended as if her mother was not there. She never spoke to her, never even looked at her. She did her own dishes, cooked her own food, did her own laundry...she made every attempt possible to deny that her mother existed at all. In fact, if it wasn't for her faint hope that Usagi would reappear on their doorstep one day, Minako would have left that home long ago._

_Miyako was a wreck. She had quit her modeling job and simply wasted her days doing nothing at home. Every night, she would try in vain to get her daughter to say something, anything to her, but it was always to no avail. Eventually, she began to drown her sorrows in alcohol._

* * *

><p>Shaking her head, Minako cleared away her thoughts. That had happened years ago. She was currently sitting in Crown with her allies, and had just been scolded by her feline companion Artemis for insulting potential allies. Taking a deep breath to cool down, she placed a hand on her chest. She could feel it. Around her neck was a beautiful silver and gold necklace. It had a golden symbol of the planet Venus cradled by a silver crescent moon. The birthday present that Usagi had last given her all those years ago. Whenever she held it, she would always manage to calm down. Even more so after she met Artemis and awoken to being a Sailor Senshi.<p>

Getting her head back in the game, Minako watched as her guide and friend Artemis talked to the woman called Setsuna, also known as Sailor Pluto. It kind of bothered her that the cat was so friendly with the woman, but Minako pushed those thoughts aside. After all, he and Sailor Pluto had known each other for much longer than she had known him. Instead, her mind turned to the other thing that had been nagging at her all day.

The girl with long blonde hair, Usagi Mizuno.

Something about the girl had been bothering her the entire time. There was something about her that was extremely familiar, but she couldn't place what it was. And every time she felt that she was getting closer to realizing what it was, it was like her mind would freeze for a moment, and she would forget what she was thinking about.

Thinking about the girl, Minako's eyes went wide as Artemis moved over to the currently unconscious girl and lick her on the cheek. It was more than shocking. In all the time she knew him, Artemis was always distant to anybody except for herself. He almost never showed any kind of emotion like he was doing with the unconscious girl right now. Even if she and Minako did look similar.

'Wait, look similar..?'

Minako's eyes lit with realization as the bridges began to connect themselves, facts began to add together, and one plus one began to equal two. Suddenly, it was as if some kind of spell had broken, and everything she had been trying to think of hit her all at once.

"No...no way...Usagi-chan..?"

It was all there, the facts, everything. And yet, Minako was scared for the briefest of moments. Could it really be true? Could the person she had so desperately searched for really be right here in front of her? And if so, why? Why hadn't she said anything? Why was she pretending not to know her? Was it possible that she had the wrong person? She decided to find out the only way that she could think of.

Moving slowly, she walked over and pulled Usagi's hand to her cheek. Leaning in slightly, Minako sighed softly as Usagi subconsciously stroked her face.

"It's okay now, Mina-chan," Usagi cooed softly, a warm look on her face. Then, in lightning speed, that look turned to a look of absolute horror and fear. "Oh crap."

"I thought so." Letting go of Usagi's hand, Minako grabbed Usagi's hair, which was flowing freely and began to restyle it. Stepping back, she looked at her now twin-tailed counterpart."I've finally found you. I've been searching for you for eleven years...Usagi Tsukino."

* * *

><p>AN: And, we've come to the conclusion of this chapter. In this chapter we see the background between Minako and Usagi, as well as a glimpse at other people as well. Several questions are answered, and even more of them are left in the air. We now see what led to Usagi becoming the cool, calculating child that trusts no one except for her companion Hotaru, as well as get a glimpse at some of the things that Usagi was capable of, even as a child.

At any rate, this chapter is done, and now I need to hear from you! What you like, questions that you may have...anything! I always want to hear from you! Even if you just want to chat, feel free to PM me. Until next time!


	7. Sisters, Memories, and Crystals

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing that the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

* * *

><p>The room was deathly silent, no one daring to say a word as Minako stared down Usagi. However, that didn't stop Ami from edging close to her younger sister, her eyes trained on Minako, ready to strike if the girl made a single hostile move.<p>

For what seemed like an eternity, the two blondes looked at each other, until finally Usagi looked away. "This wasn't supposed to happen...the magic wasn't supposed to break..."

"Everything happens for a reason." Usagi and Ami turned as Setsuna stood up and walked over to her. Patting her daughter on the head, she smiled lightly, "You should know that by now. And whatever happens, you have to face it the best you can. Now, I'm heading out. There are some people that I need to pick up. I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon. Don't have _too _many guests over tomorrow." Before anyone else could reply, Setsuna walked out of the arcade, leaving everyone else save Minako and Usagi stuck in an awkward silence.

"Everything happens for a reason..." Taking a deep breath, Usagi gathered herself, then turned back to Minako. "You finally found me. It's been a long time...Nee-san."

Everyone gasped in surprise; Minako rushed forward and embraced Usagi tightly, tears in her eyes. "It's really you...It's really you..!" Breaking down, she couldn't stop from sobbing into the girl's chest, Usagi patting her head. After several minutes, she finally managed to calm down. Pulling back slightly, she looked Usagi in the eyes, "There are so many things that I want to say to you...and so many times I want to hit you... You've been hiding from me for eleven years, and now that I've found you, I won't let you get away again. You're not going to walk out of my life a second time, Usagi Tsukino."

"Mizuno." A dark look came to Usagi's eyes as she slowly pushed Minako away. "Don't call me by that name ever again. Call me Mizuno or even call me Aino, but never _that_ name."

"'Sagi-chan," Ami spoke quietly, catching Usagi's attention, "I don't like being left out of the loop, especially when it comes to something that seems to be rather important..."

Usagi nodded and took Ami's hand, "I know. You and Mama never asked me about the past, and for that I'm grateful. However, now that the past has caught up to me, I want you and mama to be the first ones that I tell about it. Together. I'm sorry that everything's happening all at once, but...I..."

Her words drifted off as she suddenly clutched Ami's clothes, her body falling into Ami's chest, The older girl catching her before she fell off the stool.

"Usagi-chan!"

"Usagi-san!"

Everyone jumped to their feet, worry clear on all of their faces. "It's alright," Ami said as she gathered Usagi into a better holding position, "She's just tired from today's events. It's time that we take our leave."

"We can't." Everyone was surprised as Usagi lifted her head, still being held by Ami, "We have work to do..."

Mercury glanced at the entrance, a frown on her face for a split second. "Don't worry. Ho-chan and I will take care of them in a moment. For now, you need to go home and rest. But first..."

Reaching into her pocket with one hand, she held out a piece of paper to Minako. "This is Setsuna-san's address. Come over tomorrow around noon. There are still things that we need to talk about."

"But I..." Minako began, but Ami shook her head.

"Don't worry, 'Sagi-chan's not going anywhere. We'll be expecting you and the other _Senshi _tomorrow then. Farewell." The girl began to glow light blue, and in a burst of light she vanished, taking Usagi with her.

"Well then ladies," Motoki said, getting up from his chair, "I'm going to close up shop now. Be careful on your way home."

As they all got up to leave, Mamoru stopped by Rei. "What's wrong? You look like something's bothering you."

"It's nothing." Brushing past him, she walked out the door. _'Back then, when Usagi-chan fainted, I felt it. Usagi's life force was fading away. I don't know why, but it was. I hope she's all right...wait, this feeling is-!'_

"Guys, we have trouble! It's a youma! It feels like it's near the park!" In an instant, the three girls were transformed, racing towards the park. After a moment, Mamoru transformed and followed them.

* * *

><p>When the Senshi arrived, they were met with a startling scene. Dozens of youma were in pieces everywhere. In the center of it all, Sailor Saturn was locked in combat with a blond man in a strange gray suit. Behind her, a young man was sprawled out on the ground, cowering in fear of the man.<p>

The blond man was sweating furiously. Narrowly avoiding the glaive, he viciously kicked Saturn in the stomach and jumped back, getting good distance between them. His eyes narrowed, glaring daggers as he clutched his side that was flowing with blood. "Who...Who the hell _are _you! You weren't one of the Senshi that we fought at the Moon Palace. Someone with your strength would have taken down first!"

Flipping in mid-air, Saturn landed on her feet, using her glaive to stop her backwards acceleration. Her clothes were bloody, torn in places as she gazed impassively at the man. "Indeed , I will never forgive myself. If I _had_ been at the Moon Palace, none of you would have come near the queen; nor would have you killed those that were my comrades."

A distance away from them, Mercury landed next to the other inner scouts, and gasped in shock. "...Saturn..?" She could feel it. The power that was radiating from Saturn. It was oppressive and cold, sharp and dangerous. And the way she carried herself, her stance...it was different than before. Saturn had trained long and hard, and was very good in battle, but now...her whole demeanor had changed. Her stance had changed, giving the illusion of openings that would lead to the death of anyone who would try to exploit them. The way she carried herself was now more confident than before, and her eyes...

Her eyes...

Her eyes.

Everyone, including the inexperienced inner Senshi could see that they were different. Before, her eyes had held a sort of desperate determination, along with anger. Now, her eyes held the utmost confidence and clarity, is if she had survived countless wars. As if the chance of dying in battle didn't exist for her. And above all, there was the determination. Or rather, the lack of it. Now, if you were to look at her eyes, you would see an unshakeable will, a will that says if there's something that she would do, then nothing in heaven or hell would stand in her way.

And now that same look was directed at the man whom she was battling as she spoke, "But above all else, I will never forgive myself for allowing the princess..._my _princess to fall, and not be there to protect her..." In a flash her glaive was raised, pointed at the man who stood far across from her, "You'll die here."

Not one of the Senshi, not even Ami, saw her move. But everyone saw the glaive as it sliced through the man's torso, blood splattering everywhere...

Saturn landed on the ground, her glaive lowered, an impassive expression on her face. "He escaped. Oh well, it doesn't matter. There's still the main objective..."

"Saturn!" She turned as the Inner Scouts ran up to her, the slightest trace of annoyance flickering on her face, before it relaxed as her eyes set on Mercury. "Are you alright, Saturn?"

Mercury stopped a few feet away from her, her eyes showing nothing, but her body said everything as she slipped into a stance that was prepared for battle. Seeing this, the other Senshi stepped back, surprise on their faces as they watched the two.

"...Who are you?" Mercury's eyes were trained on Saturn, never moving away as the younger girl gave her a small smile.

"I am Sailor Saturn, the Senshi of Death and Rebirth, guardian of the princess and the solar system. But more importantly..." She moved, and everyone braced themselves. Reaching out slowly, Saturn touched Mercury's face gently, in a familiar fashion, "I'm the one that you and U-chan call 'sister'."

At those words, Mercury relaxed a bit, looking Saturn straight in the eyes, "What happened for you to change this much?"

"A lot of things have happened; I'll explain everything later. But for now, there is something more important." Turning silent once more, Saturn turned towards the man who had been hiding behind her during the battle.

Immediately the man jumped to his feet, bowing deeply. "T-thank you so much for saving me! If it weren't for you, I'd have been eaten or worse by those things! I don't know how to possibly thank you!"

"There is no need to thank me. After all..."

SWISH.

There was a blood-piercing scream as her glaive cut the man in two, blood spraying everywhere as the pieces fell to the floor. Everyone, including Mercury was shocked.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Minako shouted, making a move forward, however she jumped back as a jet of fire shot past her.

Saturn didn't move as the flames moved towards her, and didn't blink as the flames hit the ground right next to her- incinerating the body that had fallen to the ground.

"Mars!" Venus rounded on the Martian Senshi, but Mars shook her head, "No... That thing's not human. I can feel a dark energy coming from that body!"

As soon as she said it, everyone else could feel it. The dark aura that was emanating from the body was

staggering, almost pushing back everyone as-

SWISH.

The energy dissipated as Saturn swung her glaive once more, a blue energy bursting from it. With a final scream, the torso turned into dust, blowing away into the night breeze, Saturn watching it scatter. Minako however, noticed something where the torso used to be. "Huh? What's this-!"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!"

Venus froze as the Silence Glaive crashed into the ground between her and what she had been reaching for. Turning to Saturn, she saw the dark look in her eyes before they softened. Moving past Venus, she recovered her glaive. Moving it gently, she used the tip of the blade to touch what Venus had been reaching for- a small yellow crystal.

The moment the two touched, the glaive gave off a soft blue aura and the yellow crystal vanished. "I'm sorry, but this crystal is important for our mission. I cannot allow anyone except Mercury to touch it.."

"Venus looked at the younger Senshi for a long moment, "Can you please explain what is going on here? What was that crystal, and what was that thing it was in? And, who was that man you were fighting?"

Saturn shook her head, "I know that you have many questions, however now is not the time to talk. It's late, and I'm sure everyone's tired. By the way, did the meeting go well for everyone?"

At this, Venus remembered about the meeting at the arcade. "Ah, yes. We agreed to meet at Setsuna-san's home tomorrow. There were a lot of things that we need to talk about."

"I see," Saturn replied, "Then we will all talk tomorrow. Well then, farewell." And with that same flash that was admired by the most of the Inners, Saturn teleported away, followed shortly by Mercury.

"Alright, let's go home too. We don't want to get caught by the police or anything." Nodding to each other, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter went their own respective ways, taking to the top of buildings as they left.

Yet nobody noticed the man that was lurking in the shadows of a nearby alley, watching the entire ordeal...

* * *

><p>The sound of an unlocking door woke Usagi from her dreams. When they had returned, Usagi had fallen asleep the moment she had lay down on the couch. As she sat up, she heard the door open. "I'm home!"<p>

The sound of the soft voice brought both happiness and slight fear to Usagi, but it didn't stop her from responding, "Welcome home, Mama."

Entering the living room, Saeko Mizuno smiled as she saw her youngest daughter. "Hello, Usagi. How was your day?"

"It was nice. We went to Crown." Usagi pasted a fake smile on her face. Unfortunately for her, it had the opposite effect than she wished, because Saeko wasn't buying it.

"Usagi, did something happen?" Saeko began looking her daughter over, searching for even the smallest of injury. Once she didn't find any, she looked back into her eyes, a dark look on her face, "Did somebody say something rude to you? Did someone give you and Ami problems?"

Usagi hastily shook her head, "No,no! It's nothing like that! It's just... Mama, there's something that I need to talk to you about."

Despite herself, Saeko couldn't help smiling. No matter how much time passed, no matter how much they had matured and learned, Ami and Usagi always acted like young children whenever it came to her and Setsuna. Nonetheless, she could tell it was something serious. It was very rare that Usagi would approach her like this. Usually it was Ami or Hotaru that would eventually admit to something. "What is it that has you this serious, Usagi?"

Usagi took a deep breath, "Today, at Crown, we met some of the other Sailor Senshi. Mars, Jupiter, and ...Venus." After receiving a nod, she continued, "The thing is, I already knew Sailor Venus. She's..."

"The girl you and Hotaru-chan have been keeping tabs on all these years?"

Usagi's eyes widened in shock as she stared at her Saeko, "How...how did you..?"

Saeko put on a wry smile, "Really, now. I _am _your mother. I know a lot more about what goes on than you think about you, Ami, and Hotaru-chan. A mother's duty is to look after her children, after all."

Usagi nodded, "How much do you know about her..?"

"Not too much. Only that you and Hotaru-chan have known her for a very long time."

"Yes. In truth, I met her before I met Ho-chan. Her name is Minako. Minako Aino."

At this, Saeko's face lit with surprise and recognition. "Aino...as in your previous family name?"

Before Usagi could respond, a burst of light signified someone's arrival as Hotaru appeared, shortly followed by Ami.

The moment they arrived, Saeko felt Usagi tense up. Looking at the young girl, she saw that Usagi was glaring daggers...at Hotaru. "Usagi..?"

"..." The look in her eyes were icy, a look Saeko hadn't seen from her before. Instinctively, she held Usagi closer to her, afraid the girl would jump off the couch and attack Hotaru.

"Sagi-chan, it's okay," Ami said quickly, powering down, "It's just Ho-chan! I know her aura feels different, but-!"

"It's okay. I understand." Ami stopped and turned to Saturn, who had raised her glaive. The blade began to give off a soft yellow glow, and after a moment, the yellow crystal from earlier appeared. All eyes were on it as it slowly floated across the room, and connected with Usagi's chest.

"!" The moment it touched, a white, powerful light burst forth from Usagi and she fell limp in Saeko's arms.

"Usagi! What just happened!"

"It's alright. U-chan will be fine." Sitting down on the couch next to her, the powered-down Hotaru brushed a strand of hair out of Usagi's face, "Her body's just readjusting to the sudden surplus of power."

"What do you mean, Hotaru-chan?" Asked Ami as she moved over to them, "And what happened earlier to you?"

Hotaru nodded, "Yes. It is a good time to explain. Earlier, when I was at the Time-Gate, I was looking into the past, trying to find out what happened during the Silver Millennium. Although I couldn't see everything like Mama can, I saw glimpses. And the last of which was an image of me, on the planet Saturn. So, I decided to take a risk. Using all of the power I had at the time, I teleported to Saturn."

At this, Hotaru's face turned serious, that older, mature look appearing once again, "It was like time had stopped, and then suddenly sped up. The moment I arrived, memory after memory flashed through my mind, trying desperately to refill me with everything that I had lost with my previous life. And when it was done, there I stood, Saturn. The true Senshi of Death and Rebirth, my old memories and powers completely restored. I could also sense the change that had occurred within my mind. I had matured much more than I was before, my old personality synching with my newer one. And that is the me that sits before you."

Saeko nodded, "I see. Although it is out of my medical knowledge and common sense as I know it, I can accept that explanation. However, what I want to know right now is what just happened to Usagi? What was that crystal?"

"Actually, that is what I wanted to talk to Ami-nee about. As you know, Inside of U-chan, a very powerful youma is being kept sealed away. From what I've gathered, this was done by Queen Serenity as a last ditch effort to defeat the Dark Kingdom. However, the strain this causes Usagi is far too great, having an effect on her health. This is why she is almost always tired, and it's been getting worse as the youma puts more and more strain on the seal. For the longest time, the two of us have been looking for an ancient relic of the Moon Kingdom, an artifact known as the Ginzuishou. This gem was what enabled Queen Serenity to perform the miracles that she did, and is one of the most powerful items in the galaxy. It was lost when the Silver Millennium ended, but Ami-nee and I had discovered that it was somewhere on Earth. If we have the Ginzuishou, it should be more than possible for U-chan to destroy the youma sealed away within her. And she should be able to regain her health."

"That's what we've hypothesized, at any rate," Ami said, nodding to herself, "But you haven't explained about that crystal."

"That's the key part. I found out a lot of things when I went back to the Time-Gate after recovering my memories. As it turns out, the Ginzuishou was split into seven different parts and scattered across Japan. Most likely to keep the Dark Kingdom remnants from obtaining it so easily. As the Keeper of the Ginzuishou, it's U-chan's responsibility to guard it and keep it out of the hands of those who would abuse its powers. And as her protectors, it is Ami-nee and my responsibility to find the four remaining parts and return them to U-chan. In essence, it's killing two birds with one stone. I have a feeling that Queen Serenity knew what she was sentencing her daughter to when she sealed away the youma within her."

The room was quiet, everyone taking in what they had just learned, until finally Ami spoke up, "You said four remaining parts. Does that mean that three of them have already been found? How long ago was this?"

"Yes, three of them are accounted for. The yellow one from earlier is one. I have another one embedded into the Silence Glaive. I've had it for a very long time, but only realized what it is earlier."

"Why didn't you give that one to 'Sagi-chan as well?"

"Because the crystals attract each other. When one is nearby, I can feel it with the Silence Glaive. Which is how I found the third one."

"And where is that one?"

"It is right in front of us." Both Ami and Saeko looked to where Hotaru pointed- right at Usagi. "U-chan already had a part of the Ginzuishou with her."

After looking at the two, Hotaru smiled softly, "I know this is a lot to take in all at once. Shall we call it a night? I don't think U-chan will wake up until tomorrow."

"That's a good idea. We could all use the rest." Getting to her feet, Saeko lifted Usagi into Ami waiting arms as Hotaru made for her room. Ami frowned slightly as she thought about the day's events. "Still, it bothers me that I won't find out about that Minako girl until tomorrow..."

Halfway up the stairs, Hotaru stopped for a second. "Minako? As in Minako Aino?"

Surprised, Ami looked at her, "Yes, the girl who is Sailor Venus. Do you know her as well, Hotaru-chan?"

Stifling a yawn, Hotaru nodded, continuing her ascent of the stairs, "I met her a long time ago. She's U-chan's older sister."

Little did she know just how much an impact that statement would have on Ami...

* * *

><p>AN: And, here we go! In this chapter, a lot of information is given out, and a lot of things happen all at once. As usual, I want to hear what you think about the latest chapter! Questions, comments, concerns; all are welcome!

Until next time!


	8. Questions of the Heart

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing that the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

* * *

><p>Hotaru got up before dawn. She had been awake all night, thinking about many various things. Looking at her clock, she smiled slightly. '<em>Looks like I'll be making breakfast for everyone before I get ready for school. I'm sure that everyone would enjoy it. But first, I'll wake up U-chan and Ami-nee.' <em>It was a morning ritual for them that the first one up would wake the others and make breakfast. Usually, it was either Hotaru or Ami, as their school started before Saeko had to go to work, but sometimes she would beat them and make breakfast first. At one point in time, Usagi would wake up before all of them, however as she began to lose more and more energy daily, she began to sleep later and later to try to recover the lost energy.

After washing away her sleepiness, she left her room and walked across to Usagi's. Quietly opening the door, she stepped in. "U-chan..?" What she saw surprised her. Usagi was already awake, staring out of her window with an unreadable expression on her face. However, what startled Hotaru was her eyes. The color of them, to be exact. While before they were a deep blue, now they were a pale blue, closer to ice blue.

At the sound of Hotaru's voice, Usagi turned to her. "Ah...Ho-chan..? No...you're not. You're Sailor Saturn." It was a statement. One that further shocked Hotaru. She hadn't expected for Usagi to wake up so soon on her own in the first place. But for her to be able to sense the change in Hotaru, that was something else...

"Close, U-chan. I'm still Hotaru, but now my past self and current self have completely merged together. But, how were you able to tell? I'm not in Senshi form. And even then, my aura now is completely different than before."

"I don't know. Somehow, I could just feel it. So, does this mean that you're not my Ho-chan anymore?"

Instead of immediately replying, Hotaru moved over to Usagi's bed and sat down on it. Then, she pulled her into a gentle embrace as she buried her face into Usagi's neck. "I'm a little different than what you remember, but I'll always be your Hotaru."

"Mm. At the very least, you still smell like Ho-chan, so I guess that'll do. Now that that's settled, I've got a question for you..." The moment she whispered the last part, Hotaru felt Usagi's nails clench down against her back as she tightened the embrace. While it barely hurt, and both of them recognized the fact that she could get out of the hold with ease if she felt like it, Hotaru didn't try to. The only time either one of them used their nails like that was when they were very serious about something, and then, only with each other. So instead, she just kept embracing Usagi and listened.

"...What did you do to me last night?"

Hotaru slowly and gently pulled, Usagi relenting and taking hold of Hotaru's hands. "U-chan, do you remember anything?"

"I remember up to when you and Ami-nee came home, but nothing else after that."

"I understand. Yesterday, I found out what happened to the Ginzuishou. At the end of the Silver Millennium, Queen Serenity used the power of the Crystal to seal away the seven strongest youma that assaulted the Moon Palace, splitting the Crystal into seven parts and scattering it in the future where she sent us. Last night, Ami-nee and I recovered one of the parts, a yellow gem. The moment we returned with it, it reacted to the one that was inside of you, and was drawn to it. When it did, the power overflow caused you to fall asleep as your body readjusted."

"...I see. So, we just need to find the other five pieces?"

"Four. I have one of them embedded into my glaive. That way, it can help me locate the other ones since they are drawn to each other. I told Saeko-san and Ami-nee last night. But, we can talk more about that later. How are you feeling, U-chan? Is there any difference from before?"

It took a moment for Usagi to reply, "...It feels strange. Almost like a part of my soul I has been returned. And yet at the same time, I feel much more tired than usual."

"...U-chan, I think that your Lunarian blood is starting to awaken."

"Why do you say that?"

Turning on the light in the room, Hotaru picked Usagi up and moved over to the mirror in front of Usagi's dresser. "Your eyes, U-chan."

"..." Usagi was silent for a good moment. Finally, after a good moment she sighed, "That _is _a good reason for your reasoning. I'll finally be a little closer to you all."

"U-chan..."

"Anyways, let's go make breakfast. I don't want you and Ami-nee to be late for school. (Even if you're always skipping out, Ho-chan.)"

"U-chan!"

* * *

><p>Breakfast was nice. They had woken Ami up and together the three girls made a large meal. Saeko had been pleasantly surprised; it made a wonderful start to her day off.<p>

"Still," Usagi spoke up just as Ami and Hotaru were grabbing their bags, "It seems unfair that Al Riviera is holding school while the rest of the city has today off."

"Tell me about it," Hotaru muttered under her breath. Ami gave her a dissatisfied look.

"Hotaru-chan! We should always take every opportunity to learn! Learning is life!"

Usagi couldn't help but giggle as she looked on at the two, which in turn caused Ami to turn on her, "And you, 'Sagi-chan! I keep saying that you should attend Al Riviera with us! Even if Setsuna-san does continue to instruct you in various things, there's never too much that you can learn! You-Ah, the time! We're going to be late, come on, Hotaru-chan, we have to run!"

"Would you like me to give you a ride? Usagi and I are going to Setsuna's place, and it's not too far away." Saeko stated.

"Yes, that' would-"

"I think you should walk to school."

Everyone fell silent at the sound of Usagi's suggestion. Then, Ami replied, "But 'Sagi-chan, if we walk, we'll be incredibly late! It would definitely be better if we got a ride..."

Usagi shook her head, "I really think that you should walk to school today. Not run, just walk. Through the park. Yes, I really think that's a good idea."

Hotaru looked at Usagi and nodded, "That does sound like a good idea. Come on, Ami-nee, let's go. See you all at mama's house later!"

"Hey, Hota-wait-hey!" Ami protested while she was pulled out the door. It was only a good five minutes after they had started walking that she managed to get her arm out of Hotaru's grip. Angrily, she turned to Hotaru.

"Hotaru-chan, what's going on? Why are we walking to school! Now, we're definitely going to be late!"

"Idiot, use that giant brain of yours for a moment!"

"What do you mean, I'm an idiot!"

"Exactly what I said! Don't you get it? U-chan was predicting the future!"

"Her precognition?"

"Exactly! _That's_ why we're walking. ...Through the park."

"*Sob* My perfect attendance record..."

* * *

><p>"Usagi, why did you tell them to walk through the park? Is there something there?" Saeko looked at her quizzically.<p>

"There might be something there later, mama."

"Ah. Then, shall we head out, as well?"

"My, mama, it's still not even six yet. Are you in that much of a hurry to see Puu again?"

"Usagi!"

"*Giggle* Come on, mama, it's pretty obvious to everyone except Puu herself that you've got the hots for her!"

"That-! That's not- ...Is-is it really that obvious..?"

"Only to me and Ho-chan, mama. Ami-nee didn't realize it until we spelled it out to her. Don't worry, we haven't said to Puu about it. Oh, but she probably won't be there when we get there. She said that she wouldn't be back until the afternoon. She went to go pick up some guests of hers."

"I see... Usagi, I can't believe I'm asking you this, but...you wouldn't happen to know if...I mean...what's...her opinion on...love?"

At any other time, Usagi would have laughed at the blush on Saeko's face, but this was a serious moment, and Usagi wouldn't dare ruin it. "Puu's opinion on love is a mirror of my own. We believe that love comes in all shapes and sizes, colors, and ages...and genders. Love shouldn't be judged by such things, only by the magnitude of the love itself."

Saeko let out a huge sigh of relief, a smile on her face, one that quickly turned to another worried look, "Wait, she's not interested in anyone, is she?"

"Mama, there's only two people in the world right now that have a chance at capturing Puu's heart, and you're one of them. Puu has infinite patience; she'll never make the first move. It's been over ten years; hurry up and take a chance at love again before it's too late! Now come on, mama, let's go!"

"Too late! Wait, who's the other person!" Grabbing her keys, she helped Usagi out of the house and into the car. After locking up the house, she got into the car and pulled out.

"The other person? Do you really want to know? Can you really handle knowing who your potential rival in love is..?"

"Usagi, stop teasing me and tell me already!"

"Okay then, but don't say that I didn't warn you. The truth is, the only other person that has a chance at capturing Puu's heart if they were serious about it is...Usagi Mizuno."

It was convenient that Saeko had just encountered a red light, because the moment that name came out of her daughter's mouth, she hit the brakes. Hard.

"You! Are you serious? I find that very hard to believe, Usagi."

"Is it truly that surprising? Think about it, mama. Right now, Puu loves me more than she loves anybody else, it doesn't matter that her love for me isn't completely the romantic type. And I love Puu too. A lot. She's smart, strong, kind, and very capable, and she already knows almost everything about me. Being completely honest, if I really wanted to try to start a lovers relationship with Puu, can you really not see it as a possible reality?"

The thing that bothered Saeko the most was that she couldn't deny what Usagi had said. It was a fact known to everybody that knew the two families that Setsuna cared about Usagi more than anyone else in the world, even more than Hotaru (Who conveniently didn't mind, as she also felt likewise about Usagi). And despite having her misgivings, Saeko couldn't rule out the possibility that Setsuna's love could turn romantic at some point.

"But, you don't need to worry about me. I'd never try to ask Puu out. I don't feel that way about her. Besides, it would hurt Ho-chan if I did."

"Ah, I understand. However, am I to assume from that statement that you are aware of the feelings that Hotaru-chan has for you?"

It was something that Saeko had always wondered. Exactly what was the relationship between Usagi and Hotaru? The way the two girls carried themselves around each other hadn't changed at all since they were adopted. She knew that Usagi was Hotaru's most important person, but she just didn't know for sure whether or not they were intimately involved.

It was a long moment before Usagi answered, but when she did, her response wasn't at all what Saeko expected.

"I am aware of them indeed. More so than she is."

* * *

><p>AN: And, here we go. In this chapter, many things are revealed, but many more questions are raised. For one, what's going on with Usagi?

As always, I want to hear what you think, so leave me a review or a PM! And this written half-awake, so let me know in a PM if you spot some glaring gramatical error.

Until next time!


	9. Truth is Hard to Hear

A/N: Definition of FanFic: FICTION (a non realistic story) made by a FAN (an ardent follower and admirer) of another person's work, using that person's ideas to make an original story. As such, the only thing that the FAN owns is their respective original story and original characters; NOT the object(s) of their FANdom.

* * *

><p>The black cat was tired. It had been running for hours, running from the shadow that continued to pursue it, and its strength had long ago exhausted. Only sheer willpower had sustained it, and now that was fading as well. Racing through alleyways, it climbed buildings, slipped tiny spaces, and leap from roof to roof, but to no avail. The shadow continued to gain ground, and now the cat was completely out of energy. With a final leap, the cat jumped off of the roof it was on, beginning to lose consciousness as it plummeted, expecting to never wake again. The last thing it could recall was a soft voice and warmth before everything faded into darkness...<p>

In reality, Usagi and Saeko had been watching the cat the entire time since they arrived at their second home. In fact, Usagi had been watching this cat for a few days now. It had been scoping out the house for about a week now, and had caught Usagi's attention. She knew immediately that the cat was magical due to the fact it was incapable of approaching the house. Setsuna's magics kept anything with even a hint of magical or spiritual powers (save the girls whom resided there) from coming near the house unless brought in by said girls. Setsuna's magics also kept their powers from being detectable while at either of their homes. Yet nonetheless, the cat managed to notice something, and had been trying for days to get past the barrier and closer to the house.

That's why, when she didn't see the cat when she and Saeko made it to the house, she became curious. So, sitting outside on their back porch, Usagi used one of the powers taught to her to project an image of the cat. Since the meeting with the inner Senshi, she had a suspicion that the cat might have been related to Artemis somehow, but seeing it chased by a shadow youma for hours confirmed that at the very least, she wasn't an enemy.

Probably.

Thus, using her abilities as a support specialist, she gently nudged the cat with her power, leading the small animal back to Setsuna's home. She wasn't sure if the cat had the energy left to make it, but it was worth a shot.

To her delight, it made it, Saeko catching the falling cat in her arms with a warm smile. A smile that quickly turned to a look of horror. "USAGI!"

Usagi simply looked where her mother was pointing, a blank expression on her face. "Oh."

The youma had managed to slip in when Usagi let the barrier down for the cat.

Saeko had seen Ami and Hotaru train before, she had seen them fight against each other to grow stronger, but this was the first time since they were small children that she had been face to face with another youma with neither one of them around. She was scared. Not for herself, but her youngest daughter, whom was not a Senshi like her elder sister. Moving in front of Usagi, she dropped the cat on the child's lap as she stood protectively in front of her. _'I won't allow anything to harm my one of my children!'_ She was preparing for the worst when suddenly several arrows of light shot past her, striking down the youma, the creature letting loose a piercing cry as it vanished. Dumbstruck, she turned just in time to see the light disappear from Usagi's hands. Noticing the look on her mother's face, Usagi giggled.

"Even I can handle a low level youma like that." She was smiling, but was sweating slightly. "Although, I feel hungry again now. Can we go inside, please?"

"Ah, of course. I'll make you something healthy and simple." Saeko couldn't help but smile at the expression of disgruntlement that came to her daughter's face. "By the way Usagi, why was that cat being chased in the first place? Why would a youma be after an animal?" As she pushed the wheelchair back in the house, still a bit shaken, she couldn't help but wonder.

"I'm sure we will find out later when it wakes up. For now, I think it would be best to I'd rather lay down for a while before everyone else gets here. Can we go into the living room instead?" Usagi spoke softly or rather, more softly than usual. Saeko could tell at a glance that she was suffering from severe fatigue. Setting up the pillows on the couch, she helped her daughter lay down. "Thank you, if it's not too much trouble, could you wake me close to noon before our guests arrive?"

Saeko nodded, noting that immediately fallen asleep before she could hear a response. As she watched over her youngest child, her thoughts were swirling around her head. First and foremost was the fact that there was an entire side of her youngest daughter that she did not know. Of course, she knew her daughter had her secrets, her past being one of them, but this was different. She had no idea that Usagi possessed such destructive powers like her sisters.

While in general Saeko didn't involve herself too much in their Senshi lives, Ami and Hotaru told her all the time about the things that they were learning, what they were training in, what they achieved, etc. However, now that she thought about it, there was very little that she knew about the things that Usagi had been learning while her sister and best friend were training as Senshi. All she had known was that she had been studying things such as ancient languages, etiquette, politics, diplomacy, and such. She had no idea what abilities Usagi had learned to use, and what powers that she had besides the ability to teleport around that all of them seemed capable of.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized just how much she didn't know. While both Ami and Hotaru would animatedly speak of what abilities they would master to everyone, Usagi almost never did. Of course, Ami and Hotaru were aware of some of Usagi's powers, the three of them were a team, after all, and from what she'd heard, her younger daughter was a brilliant support specialist capable of telepathy as well as precognition. However, not even the two of them knew exactly what Usagi was learning from Setsuna, or the extent of her powers. And it was due to one main reason.

Usagi's body was frail.

It was something that, in fact, Saeko herself had noticed first, soon after adopting the small child, even before Setsuna. Being a doctor, she was always aware of the health of her children. As such, she immediately noticed how she began showing increasing symptoms of anemia. However, even after several check-ups, every report stated that, her legs aside, she _should _have been just fine. So, suspecting that it might have something to do with her powers, she contacted Setsuna. And after Setsuna's special check-up, everyone discovered the reason for her increasing anemia.

Usagi had a very powerful youma sealed within her, and her spirit was constantly using most of her powers keeping it from escaping or harming her. At first, it didn't take much energy, but as time went on, the youma began growing stronger and more energy was expended to keep it at bay. _"So that's why I lost my healing ability."_ Usagi had remarked. When Saeko had asked what she meant, Usagi shook her head and didn't speak on the matter.

As for the youma sealed inside of Usagi, ironically, she was the only one who wasn't too concerned about it. When Saeko asked why, Usagi said that when the princess or the sacred moon crystal was found, then it would be dealt with. And she remained calm and collected, even as the years passed and her strength continued to decline. That's not to say that it didn't infuriate her at times. Due to her power being drained for sealing purposes, Setsuna banned Usagi from using her powers unless it was an emergency. This wouldn't have been too upsetting for Usagi if it hadn't included teleporting.

As soon as Usagi had found out she was capable of teleportation like her sisters, she had a field day. Mastering it to a level that none of the others were capable of, she incorporated it into her daily life, using it to get from room to room and from her home to Setsuna's. She was capable of pin-point accuracy; a common occurrence was for her to teleport from the chair in her kitchen at the Mizuno home to the couch in the living room of the Meioh home. When she was banned from teleporting, she was crushed. And now that Saeko thought about it, so was she. No wonder Usagi never talked about her powers. What was the point if you're not allowed to use them?

And yet, as she watched her daughter sleep on the couch, she could see exactly why that ban was necessary. According to Usagi, the youma she defeated was weak, and yet the result was her almost collapsing right afterward. One thing was for certain: she was going to start keeping a closer eye on her blond daughter.

The musical chime of a bell resounded, shaking Saeko out of her thoughts. Looking at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was only a quarter past eleven. Did someone come early? Deciding to check who it was before waking her daughter, she went to answer the door. When she opened it, she almost gasped in shock. Standing at the entryway was a girl who looked like she could have been Usagi's twin. But this girl's eyes were a brighter shade of blue, her hair was a little darker, and she had a red ribbon tying it back. Saeko was fairly certain she knew who this person was, but still, "Yes?"

"Ah, sorry. Is this the home of Usagi Tsu-, er, Ai-, er, ah forget it, is this Usagi-chan's house!"

Only years of being a doctor kept Saeko from giggling at how nervous the girl was. "Yes it is. And you are? I don't think we've met before."

"This is the first time. My name is Minako Aino. Me and a few other girls are to meet up here with Usagi-chan, Ami-san, and Hotaru-san. I know I'm rather early, but...I-I really just need to see Usagi-chan. I _have_ to see her."

"..." Saeko stared at Minako for a moment as she recalled the previous night's conversation. _'So this is the Aino girl Usagi spoke of.' _It was obvious that this girl in front of her was a blood relative of Usagi. "Just a moment. I won't stop you from meeting with her and her sisters, but it will be up to her whether she wants to meet with you alone."

"I understand. Thank you."

"Wait here a moment." Walking back to the living room, Saeko gently shook Usagi awake, "Come on, honey. It's a little early, but someone is here and wants to talk with you before the meeting."

"Mm...someone..? Who is it, mama?" Usagi asked sleepily, straining to wake up.

"A girl who looks very similar to you. Minako Aino."

Usagi shot up, suddenly wide awake. "I should have guessed that she would come early," she muttered before looking up at her mother, "I had wanted to finish our conversation from last night before you met her..."

"I can ask her to wait in the den until the others arrive," Saeko said softly. She could see the nervousness in her daughter's eyes, but Usagi still shook her head.

"No, it's fine, mama. This is something that I have been avoiding for a long time, however, it looks like I can't ignore my past any longer. Besides," She looked at her mother and grinned mischievously, "I'm sure you're _dying _to know the relationship between Minako and I right?" Her grin faded, turning into a wistful smile, "Although, I'm sure you've probably figured it out already. But I still want to be the one to tell it to you. Can you please go get her, mama?"

Bending down, Saeko took Usagi into a warm embrace. "Usagi, just remember; no matter what you will always be my daughter. There is nothing that will ever stop me from loving you just as much as if I had given birth to you." Usagi simply smiled as Saeko walked back to the front entrance. But if one were to look at her eyes, they would see that her eyes were not smiling at all.

"I would really like to believe that, but someone else said the same thing long ago..."

After a moment, Saeko returned with Minako trailing behind her. The moment the two teens locked eyes, it was as if an eternity was passing before them before Minako slowly walked over, sat down right next to Usagi and pulled her into an extremely tight embrace, crying softly while at the same time berating the younger girl. Finally, she stopped crying but did not let go, "You better tell start talking right now. I've searched everywhere for the past eleven years, and now that I've found you, I'm never letting you go again."

Only Saeko noticed the flash of annoyance that crossed her daughter's face for the briefest of instances. Upon realizing that, indeed, Minako wasn't going to let go of her embrace anytime soon, she shifted so that she was lying against the older girl so she could still see her mother. "First and foremost, I need to introduce you two. Mama, I would like to introduce to you my...sister, and only blood relative that I acknowledge, Minako Aino. Minako, I would like you to my mother, Saeko Mizuno."

"It's nice to meet you, Mizuno-san. I would like to thank you for taking in and looking after Usagi-chan after our family's failure to do so. You have no idea how happy and relieved to see that Usagi-chan is safe and happy."

Saeko nodded, "It's nice to meet you too, Minako-chan. Although I admit, it is a surprise. I've never pried into Usagi's past, and until today had no idea that she had another sister. Although, I do wonder why she never mentioned it before."

"Because I didn't expect for Minako to see through my magic. If not for that, she would have never found me."

Usagi's blunt statement got the both of their attention. At seeing their questioning look, she continued, "After I was taken in by the Mizuno household, Setsuna used her magic to create a ward around me. In essence, it made it so that even if I was standing right in front of a person who knew me before, they wouldn't recognize me and would be unable to see me as anyone other than 'Usagi Mizuno.' That's why I could go anywhere and not have to worry about someone from my past seeing me."

"So wait, you're saying that you could have walked right by me and I would have never noticed?" Minako asked in disbelief.

Usagi nodded, "In fact, I've seen you dozens of times over the past several years. A number of them I happened to be sitting relatively close to you at Crown or a restaurant."

Saeko could see the hurt look on Minako's face as she tried hard not to cry, "...W...why? Why would you do something like that!"

"...After I left the Aino household, I, along with Hotaru-chan, lived on the streets for a long time. A lot of things happened, Minako. Eventually, we stopped trusting and caring for anyone but each other. To be honest, if it weren't for Mama and Sailor Pluto, we would still be on our own, not trusting anyone at all. Even now, after around a decade, there are still very few people that we associate with outside the family."

"But that doesn't explain why-"

"Because I was scared. I didn't want anyone to question me about the past, and I didn't want the past to come back. You know that my childhood was bad, but you don't know halve of the story Minako. I wanted to put all of it behind me, and that included my old family. I didn't have anything against you personally, but seeing you back then meant bringing back memories that I didn't want to ever remember."

The room was quiet for a long time before Minako finally spoke. "...And now? Now that I've found you, will you run away?"

"...No. There's no point, especially with the possibility of you and the other Inner Senshi working alongside Ami-nee and Ho-chan. That alone would make our encountering each other much more likely."

The sound of a chime was resounded throughout the home. Saeko got up, "I almost forgot I was planning on making lunch. I will be in the kitchen if you need me, Usagi."

Usagi nodded, not saying anything, just remaining quiet. Minako did as well. Nothing needed to be said, even thought there was so much left unsaid. For Minako, just being together finally was answer enough as she gazed at the family member that had been gone for so long.

"You should probably let me go now."

"Eh?" The sudden statement from Usagi caught Minako off guard.

"Being able to hold me in your arms like this. I'm surprised that you managed to remain unaffected for almost thirty minutes, but you should stop now."

"Why? We always used to hold each other like this when we were younger. The two of us were always very affectionate! We even kissed!"

"That may be so, however back then our actions would have been simply set aside as childish affection. We're no longer children, and we can't interact the same way anymore. You should know this, but right now you're judgment is being clouded from our being in such close contact."

"That's not true. There is nothing wrong with us being just as close to each other as before. I know what lines not to cross."

Usagi looked at her for a long moment. "Do you truly believe that you can hold yourself back?"

Minako hugged her closer to her, "Of course I do. Why would you even ask me that?"

"...Minako-chan, you're _petting."_ Immediately Minako pushed (very carefully) Usagi away as she moved away, her face a furious red, eyes wide with shock and horror.

"I-Usagi-chan, I didn't-that's-!" Her words were cut short as Usagi gently pushed a finger to her mouth.

"You don't need to apologize. It was something that you did subconsciously through no real fault of your own. Although you should have listened to me when I warned you." Minako just shook her head. Usagi sighed, "Look, Minako. Have you ever noticed how when you go somewhere, people are always around you, like they're vying for your attention? Or had someone try to cop a feel when you're out in public, even more so after you awakened to your Senshi powers?" Minako looked up and frowned, thinking of just that as Usagi continued, "And do you remember when we were little, Miyako would never let us go anywhere out of her sight and how she gave us the 'bad people' talk?"

Minako continued to nod, not quite sure where Usagi was going, but interested in finding out.

"And finally, haven't you noticed how all of the Senshi are really pretty? The reason for all of this is in our blood."

"Our blood?"

"Yes. Minako, all of the Senshi, as well as I, are reborn incarnations of our previous selves, the selves that resided and were born on the planets of the Silver Alliance. Our blood and our beings are not that of Earth. Simply put, our blood, as well as our magical aura, is attractive and much stronger than normal earth humans. Especially yours and mine, Minako. We both have Venusian blood. The people of Venus were known for all being exceptionally beautiful and having a very powerful aura. That said, most Venusian were immune to the aura of other Venusian."

Minako took a moment to let what she just learned sink in. "But, if that's true, then why was I affected like that..?"

Usagi smiled softly, "I told you earlier, that was more because of me. I have more than just Venusian blood in me, Minako. Due to that, and...other...reasons, my aura is much more potent than a normal Venusian. It will take a while of being around me for you to get used to my aura and subconsciously ignore it, just like the other Inner Senshi do yours."

Minako nodded. It made sense, both the explanations and the examples she gave. In fact, it answered some of the questions that she had always wondered to herself. "Usagi-chan, how do you know all of this? It's like you know all about us!"

"Yes, I would like to know the answer to that as well, child." Minako jumped in surprise as a black cat jumped onto the couch between them.

Usagi smiled, "I see that you are awake now. Still, you shouldn't move around too much yet, your body may still be tired. It's a good thing you made it all the way here, though. You were almost youma food."

The cat's body shivered, "I sincerely thank you for your help in saving me. Being eaten by a youma is not the way that I'd prefer to die. But more importantly, who are you? I've been watching you and the others for a while now. It takes powerful magic to be able to put a barrier around a house like the one around this one. And this home is completely filled with it. With the way you spoke earlier I assume that you're not a Senshi. But I can't feel any power aside from your Venusian aura. You're no ordinary person. Just who-myeow!"

Before she could finish her speech, she was tackled by the small white form of Artemis, who promptly began to drag her off into another room. "We're home! And our guests are here as well!" Usagi's face grew into a wide smile as Hotaru and Ami entered the living room, followed by Rei and Makoto.

"Pardon our intrusion!" Rei said as she looked around and then at Usagi. "It's nice to see you again, Usagi-san. If you don't mind me asking, are you wearing contacts? I noticed that the color of your eyes have changed. They're even prettier than before!"

Both Ami and Hotaru were surprised to see the light blush on Usagi's cheeks. Changing the subject, Hotaru looked from back and forth between Usagi and Minako, "U-chan, did you two...talk?"

Usagi nodded, "Yes. Nothing very important, though. We'll talk about it later. Right now, we should all sit down and get started. You all have a lot to talk about, do you not?" After a pointed look from Usagi, Minako got up to join her friends on the couch across from Usagi while Ami and Hotaru moved to sit by the younger girl's side. Minako silently noted how Hotaru's arm naturally encircled Usagi's waist and pulled her closer.

"What do you mean, 'You all', Usagi-chan? you're part of this group as well, aren't you?"

Usagi shook her head, "I told you before, I'm not a Senshi. Neither I or my opinions are important, so you can just ign-"

"'Sagi-chan."

"That is...I'm not actually rather tired. I will most likely sleep while all of you make your plans."

"Are you feeling better?" Rei asked, looking at her with concern. Usagi looked at her questioningly and she continued, "Yesterday, when that youma tried to possess you. Although Sailor Pluto subdued it quickly, I think I can still sense a bit of its darkness within you." Minako and Makoto gasped in shock, while Hotaru, Ami, and Usagi's eyes widened slightly. If Rei, whose spiritual powers were still weak, was capable of feeling the youma within Usagi, that only mean that the darkness within her was growing stronger. Hotaru and Ami glanced at each other in unspoken agreement.

Time was running out faster than they had expected.

Subconsciously, they glanced worryingly at Usagi. Rei noticed this, and continued, "I might be able to help you. I may not seem like it, but I'm actually a priestess at my grandfather's temple. While my spiritual powers aren't very strong yet, my grandfather is very gifted, and is used to dealing with this kind of thing, with all of the youma attacking people in the past. If you'd like, I could ask him to perform a purification ritual to get rid of the left over darkness."

Usagi looked at her for a long while before slowly shaking her head. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that this is something that is beyond your grandfather's capabilities. I don't mean to slight his ability, but this darkness is something that I must deal with as part of my duties." It was a sad smile that was on her face, one that broke the hearts of those who saw it. Hotaru and Ami looked to each other and nodded.

Hotaru leaned forward on the chair, Ami pulling Usagi towards her as Hotaru gazed at the fire Senshi with a very serious look. "Do you truly wish to help Usagi?" Rei nodded and in the background, Makoto and Minako nodded their agreement as well. After a moment, Hotaru spoke again, "As you've probably already guessed, the duty that Ami-nee and I were given is to watch over, protect, and to assist Usagi in her own duties, something that we have always done regardless of it being our duty or not, because we care about her. Us fighting the Dark Kingdom and keeping them at bay is a result of our protecting Usagi. At first, we didn't bother with you all because it was bothersome, and we all had different objectives. However now, some..._things_ have changed."

Ami continued, "Right now, you all are trying to find the princess while fighting the Dark Kingdom, a battle that is getting harder and harder for you. Both of those objectives are things that we are more than capable of assisting you with. In fact, both of those goals coincide with our own."

"What do you mean?" Minako asked as she looked at them questioningly.

"It all comes back to Lady Usagi." Her answer came from her side as Artemis walked back into the room, closely followed by the black cat from earlier. Said black cat walked in front of Usagi and, to the surprise of Minako, Makoto, and Rei, bowed (for a cat). "Lady Usagi, my name is Luna. I apologize for my rude actions earlier. They were made based upon a lack of knowledge, and I beg your forgiveness."

Artemis, who was at least a bit more familiar with Usagi jumped on her lap and licked her face. "I'm sorry too. I'd also like to apologize on behalf of the Senshi for anything rude they might have said or done before now. They may seem rash at times, but they're all good at heart, and always willing to run head first to find their princess. So, please don't take it too personally."

Usagi looked at the two cats for a moment before smiling gently as she motioned for Luna to climb onto her lap. After she had done so, Usagi gently took both of them into her arms, "There is no need to worry, and your apology is more than accepted. Mistakes happen, and nothing good comes from harboring grudges for petty reasons, or at all for that matter."

If they were shocked before, now the three girls were flabbergasted. After a moment, Minako finally managed to speak up. "Artemis, what is going on? What is it that you all know that we don't?"

Artemis looked up at Usagi, who in turn looked over to Ami. Ami nodded and turned to the confused girls, "As you are aware, we were all reborn in this time period for a reason. For you Senshi and us advisers, that reason is to protect our princess and this galaxy, along with help her establish a new kingdom when the time comes. She will do this with the help of the Ginzuishou, also known as the Silver Moon Crystal."

Minako nodded, "Yes, you told us that when we first awoken as Senshi. The crystal is what the queen used to send us to this time, as well seal away the Dark Kingdom. It is a crystal of purity that could only be used by the queen and princess."

"That's mostly correct. As we know, after so long, the Dark Kingdom found a way to escape the seal, and are now operating, trying to find the princess in order to either get or destroy the crystal. However, there are two things that they are not aware of."

"What is it that they don't know?" Makoto asked, a thoughtful look on her face, "It must be important if it's keeping them from finding the princess."

"First, they don't know the princess's actual location. All they know is that she is somewhere here in Japan. Most likely here in Tokyo, seeing as all of the Inner Senshi naturally gathered here. The second thing, and perhaps more importantly, is that they do not know that she doesn't currently possess the crystal."

"What!" Minako gasped, "She doesn't have it? Then, where is it? What happens if the Dark Kingdom finds it first!"

"Minako calm down," Artemis chided, "When the queen sealed the Dark Kingdom, she sealed away their strongest youma within the crystal itself. Then, in order to keep them away from each other, she split the crystal into seven parts and scattered six of them into the future along with us. However, the final and strongest piece wasn't scattered. Instead, it was given to and merged within the one person whom the queen was able to trust with it. This person was the High Moon Priestess, a very powerful young woman whose duty was to watch over and protect the Ginzuishou when it was not being used by the queen. They both knew that the priestess would suffer from having the youma try to take over her spirit, but knew that her powers would be able to counter it for a while. Her duty was to seek out and recover the remaining pieces of the crystal. Knowing that they would be tainted, she would merge the remaining pieces with the Ginzuishou within her and then purify it so that when the time came, the princess would be able to use it to defeat the Dark Kingdom once and for all."

Artemis stopped to let everything he said sink in. Suddenly, Rei's eyes widened in realization, "Of course! No wonder you were capable noticing my psychic abilities! Usagi-san, you're the High Moon Priestess!"

"Wait," Minako said, confusion on her face, "That can't be right. Usagi-chan told me that she had Venusian blood running through her. How can she be the High MoonPriestess?"

Everyone save, including Hotaru and Ami turned to look at Usagi questioningly. "Slowly, she shook her head while holding the cats closer to her, "Unfortunately, just like all of you, I can only remember bits and pieces of my past life. I do not remember how I was chosen, but I do remember being told that when I was born, I was blessed by the goddesses Selene and Aphrodite. I also bare their marks on my body. As a priestess, I was/am in the service of both of them."

"Can I see the marks?" Minako asked excitedly, skepticism forgotten.

Usagi looked hesitant for a moment, "I'll show you later...privately."

"So, what does this mean?" Makoto asked after a moment, "From what you've told us, Usagi-san's job is to recover the full Ginzuishou and purify it, and then return it to the princess. That's why she has that darkness within her. So, where do we Senshi stand in all of this?"

"Actually, that's part of what I still don't know," Luna answered, "According to the chain of command, if both the queen and the princess are not able to take charge or are no longer alive, full authority falls to the High Moon Priestess in their stead until either the queen and princess are able to take charge or a new queen is crowned. However, for some reason, Lady Usagi keep deferring to Ami-san and Hotaru-san. Why is this?"

Usagi sat both cats down as she thought about how to best answer. "...The three of us have been raised by Sailor Pluto almost all of our lives. Ever since we were young, Hotaru and Ami have been trained in the ways of the Senshi, and I in various other ways. While she would not tell us of our past lives in detail, she told us many other things, as well as how we are expected to behave. Sailor Pluto is the overseer of the Senshi as well as the Guardian of Time. She was the one who explained to us what our roles are. She is a mother to us, and we defer to her. Besides that, both Ami and Hotaru are very powerful and wise Senshi. They knew that I was the High Moon Priestess long before I was aware of it, and they have been protecting me and seeking to restore the Ginzuishou for just as long. It it only natural that I defer to them when it comes to Senshi matter. Although, I tend to defer to them for most things in general. They are both very caring." This earned Usagi two very big hugs.

"Besides," She continued, "Sailor Pluto is usually watching the Time Gate so she leaves them in charge. Although I may have the authority, I won't just start telling all of you what to do in regards to your duties. However, in battle, if we are all working together, I _do _expect all of you to listen to me for the most part. I may be incapable of taking the front lines, but I am a somewhat decent support specialist."

"Ah, so _that's_ why you were watching from the top of that building last time. But, didn't Tuxedo Kamen catch you that time?"

"Rose boy?" Ami scoffed, "'Sagi-chan could have taken care of herself. But then, if she had to, I wouldn't be doing my job."

Minako nodded, "Alright, so if we're going to be working together, what is our first objective? Find the rest of the Ginzuishou, or find the princess? Speaking of which, do you know anything about her?" They looked to Ami and Hotaru, who in turn, looked towards Usagi.

Usagi, now that all eyes were on her just sighed, "Princess Serenity will not reveal herself to all of us until the crystal is purified and can be returned to her. Until then, the less people that know who and where she is, the safer she will be."

The others thought about this, and nodded. "So then, we will be going after the remaining crystal parts, right?"

Usagi nodded, "Both the princess and I appreciate the effort. Although it's always been a part of my current life, I greatly await the time when I can eliminate the youma within my body and purify myself and the Ginzuishou."

Rei suddenly looked very worried as she turned to Usagi, "Usagi-san, if every piece of the crystal has a youma sealed within it, does that mean that you're sealing even more youma within yourself? That's insane! They could tear your soul apart!"

Everyone was surprised to see how worried Rei was. Usually, she was the most composed (when not being hot headed). Smiling gently, Usagi took her hand, as she Rei had moved over to in her fit of worry, "Thank you for being so concerned about me. However, I do not think you need to worry. Yesterday, one of the remaining pieces was returned to me, and while it still held much darkness within, it did not have a youma sealed inside it."

Hotaru nodded at her words, "Do you all remember meeting me last night?" Everyone save Usagi nodded, "Remember that youma that looked like a human? Those are the ones that possess the remaining parts of the crystal. It seems like the crystals were sealed within humans to keep them hidden. However, those humans will eventually become youma once again. That's why I struck that one down and took back the crystal."

The three less experienced Senshi were horrified, "But, they still have human souls! We can't just kill them!"

"That's the quickest and most assured method." Hotaru replied, her eyes hard, "Besides, I have no remorse for the loss of an Earth human. All they to is bring nothing but hatred, pain, and suffering."

Minako shook her head, "We can't do that. There has to be another way. I'm sure if we just took some time to look into it-"

Her words were cut off as Hotaru slammed her hand on the table between them, her eyes lit with anger and disgust. Even with her body hot with emotions, her words were deathly chilled, "Time is a luxury that we don't have. I will _not_ allow Usagi-hime's remaining time to run out just because you want to try and save a few of the Earth humans that have caused us so much harm!" Before anyone could respond, she had teleported out of the room.

"Ah, wait, Ho-chan!" Immediately after, Usagi disappeared as well. The room remained in a stunned silence for a brief moment.

"Well, that went well." Ami remarked dryly.

Minako looked at her with a stricken look, "Ami-san...what did she mean, Usagi's remaining time?"

Ami looked at her incredulously, "Surely you don't think she can just suppress an incredibly powerful within her own body without a price?" Minako and Makoto still looked confused, but Rei's face suddenly began to pale. "Ah, I see at least one of you has figured it out. You see, in order to suppress the youma and the darkness alongside it, Usagi has been using her own magic to do it, ever since she was born on this planet. That means that she has been constantly using her magic since the day she was born at a steady rate. Every day. _24 hours a day._"

"How can that be!" Rei gasped, "She'd have to have an unlimited amount of magic to be able to do that all of this time!"

Ami shook her head as she looked up at the ceiling, "All we know is that Usagi never ran out of magic until after she was adopted into our family. That means that her magic had been constantly draining for almost five years before it ran out. I can't even begin to imagine how much magic she truly had at that time."

"What happened when she ran out of magic?"

"Magic is just a special type of energy within our body, and all around us. When a person runs out of magic, it doesn't stop us from using our powers. Instead, a different source of energy is used in the place of our magic until said magic is restored. Life energy."

"Life energy!" Makoto gasped, "That's what the dark kingdom has been trying to gather!"

"That's right. It is a very potent type of energy, much more so than ordinary magic. However, the problem with that is that life energy is used for keeping you alive throughout time. And unlike magic, life energy regenerates very, _very _slowly. To put it simply, when you use your own life energy, you shorten your own life."

The room was silent as everyone let Ami's words sink in. "So..." Finally, Minako spoke. Her voice was calm, however her fingers were balled into fists so tight that her nails were cutting into her palm, "You're saying that Usagi has been draining her life all of this time..?"

"...That's right. When we first found out, her life was draining at a constant rate. The youma within her had grown much stronger, and it was draining her magic as soon as it would start to replenish. It was Usagi herself that came up with a way to buy time for herself. She found a way to convert life energy into magic at a rate where a little life energy would allow for a great deal of magic. By doing this, she is able to reduce the drain on her life energy."

"But at the same time, it takes more magic to subdue the youma and the darkness so she has to refill her magic more often." Rei spoke softly.

"Exactly. Hotaru-chan and I have been feeding her our own excess magic to delay it, but we can only do so much. And the more crystal parts we collect, the bigger the strain on her until she can purify the whole thing. It's already enough of a strain having to fight the youma within her on a constant basis."

"...How much time does she have left?" Minako asked, in the same quiet voice.

"That's something that only she and Sailor Pluto knows, and they both refuse to talk about it. But it's to the point where she doesn't have much physical energy throughout the day, and the little she does is used up quickly."

The room went silent once again. After a while, a thoughtful Makoto spoke up, "This is just something I was wondering about, but... how is Usagi capable of teleporting around like that? From what Artemis has told us, that requires a lot of energy to use. Shouldn't she try to save up as much energy as she can?"

For the first time that day, Ami had a wondering expression on her face as she answered, "Actually, that's something I've always wondered about as well, but according to her it takes her almost no energy whatsoever for her to teleport around." At the shocked expression on their faces, Ami continued, "According to her, it's part of a result of having mastered it to the degree that she has, which I'll admit it to an amazing degree. She once told me that it takes her more energy to toss a rock than it does for her to teleport. Excuse me for a moment while I go help get ready for lunch."

With that, she left the room, leaving three Inner Senshi deep in thought about the many things that they had learned in just a few short hours...


End file.
